Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Unlaundered truth: On Sanjay Raut’s bail and the functioning of central agencies

Unlaundered truth: On Sanjay Raut’s bail and the functioning of central agencies

Central agencies (केंद्रीय एजेंसियां) should reflect (विचार करना, प्रतिबिंबित होना) about the way they are used for political ends

A Special Court dealing with cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering (to hide the source of something (particularly illegal wealth) by various methods) Act (PMLA) in Mumbai has made some extraordinarily (असाधारण ढंग से, अत्यंत) scathing observations (अवलोकन, परीक्षा, अध्ययन) about the way the Enforcement Directorate (ED) (प्रवर्तन निदेशालय) functions. While granting bail (जमानत) to Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) MP, the court has termed (describe as, call, label, name) his arrest not only illegal but also one recorded for “no reason” at all. The grant of bail and the observations made by Special Judge M.G. Deshpande have galvanised (प्रेरित करना, आग्रह करना, उत्तेजित करना) the ED to file an immediate appeal (याचना, अपील करना) before the Bombay High Court, but the lengthy order contains enough material (सामग्री, सूचना) to substantiate (सिद्ध करना, साबित करना) the charge (आरोप, शुल्क, दावा) by Opposition parties that central agencies are being utilised to hound (harass, persecute, bother, trouble, annoy, badger, torment, bully) political opponents (प्रतिद्वंद्वी). The judge has found that the underlying (आधारभूत, बुनियादी) criminal case of cheating concerned another set of people who had committed misdeeds (दुष्कर्म, कुकर्म), but they were not arrested. As far as (to the extent that) Mr. Raut and his associate (colleague, partner, supporter, comrade), Pravin Raut, who has also been given bail, were concerned, it was essentially a civil dispute, and there was nothing to show that money involved in their transactions were “proceeds (profits, earnings, returns, revenue, income) of crime”. Their arrest under the PMLA was illegal, the court said, because there was no underlying scheduled (an appendix (added section at the end) to a statute/law/act) offence (crime, misconduct, misdeed, wrongdoing, criminal act). The ED has alleged (claim, charge, accuse; assert, state strongly) that the proceeds of the fraudulent (dishonest, unlawful, unethical, unprincipled) sale of tenements (any kind of permanent property (held by an owner)) pertaining (concern, relate to, be connected with, be relevant to) to a re-development project at Patra Chawl in Mumbai, amounted to ₹1,039 crore. It had further alleged that Mr. Pravin Raut was a proxy (agent, representative, trustee, delegate, spokesperson, mouthpiece) for Sanjay Raut, and that the latter and his wife had utilised ₹95 crore out of the proceeds (go, get going, move, progress, advance, move forward) to buy assets.

The misuse (wrong/illegal use, misemployment, exploitation, misapplication) of agencies seems to be an unlaundered truth, going by the court’s remarks. There has indeed (in fact, actually, undeniably) been a disproportionate (unreasonable, unfair; inordinate, immoderate, excessive) targeting of non-BJP political leaders by investigating agencies of the Union government. While lawyers and activists (a person who supports a political change or cause; (or societal change/cause)) have been arrested under anti-terrorism (counter-terrorism; actions taken to combat or prevent terrorism) laws, mainstream (accepted, established, recognized) political opponents often see tax raids and money-laundering cases. The latter class of cases is made possible by the PMLA that permits the ED to register a money-laundering case whenever there is an FIR by the police involving a given list of offences. In a sardonic (mocking, ironic, cynical, scornful, sharp, stinging) comment, the Special judge has noted that the ED works at great speed while making an arrest, but proceeds with the trial (hearing, inquiry, litigation, judicial proceedings) at a snail’s pace (very slow, extremely slowly). ED officers seem to be aware only of Section 19 (power to arrest) and Section 45 (stringent conditions for bail) (Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) made offences to be cognizable and non-bailable and no person accused of an offence shall be released on bail or on his own bond unless the Public Prosecutor is given the opportunity to oppose the application for such release and where the Public Prosecutor opposes the application, the court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accused is not likely to commit any offence while on bail), but not the fact that (used to refer to a specific situation under consideration/discussion) they should also hold (have, conduct, preside over) a trial. The judge’s remarks also drive home the fact that money-laundering prosecutions (legal action, legal proceeding, legal case) have an abysmally (very badly, awfully, woefully, hopelessly, poorly, inadequately, appallingly, pathetically, shockingly) low rate of convictions (sentence, judgement, verdict). Instead of rushing (hurry, hasten, run, race) to file appeals against adverse (hostile, unfavourable, unfriendly opposing, opposed, dissenting, inimical) orders, central agencies ought to (must, should) reflect on the manner in which they are being utilised for political ends.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.bail (noun)

Hindi Meaning - जमानत
English Meaning - conditional, temporary release of an arrested/imprisoned person when a specified amount of security is deposited or pledged (as cash or property) to ensure his/her appearance in court when required.

2.central agencies (plural noun)

Hindi Meaning - केंद्रीय एजेंसियां
English Meaning - the central agencies are organizations in the executive branch that co-ordinate the activities of, and provide guidance to the operating ministries and agencies; e.g. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Income Tax Department (IT) and etc.

3.reflect (verb)

Hindi Meaning - विचार करना, प्रतिबिंबित होना
English Meaning - think about, give thought to, consider, review, mull over, contemplate.

4.Prevention of Money-Laundering Act (PMLA) , 2002 (noun)

Hindi Meaning - धन शोधन निवारण अधिनियम
English Meaning - It is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted by the NDA government to prevent money-laundering and to provide for confiscation of property derived from money-laundering.

5.extraordinarily (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - असाधारण ढंग से, अत्यंत
English Meaning - extremely, unusually.

6.observation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अवलोकन, परीक्षा, अध्ययन
English Meaning - examination, study, scrutiny, surveillance.

7.Enforcement Directorate (ED) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रवर्तन निदेशालय
English Meaning - Directorate of Enforcement is a specialized financial investigation agency under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India. It was established in the year 1956 with its Headquarters at New Delhi. It is responsible for enforcement of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) (Civil Law) and certain provisions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) (Criminal Law).

8.galvanise (verb)

Hindi Meaning - प्रेरित करना, आग्रह करना, उत्तेजित करना
English Meaning - urge, arouse, stimulate, encourage, inspire, prompt.

9.appeal (noun)

Hindi Meaning - याचना, अपील करना
English Meaning - plea, entreaty, petition.

10.material (noun)

Hindi Meaning - सामग्री, सूचना
English Meaning - information, data.

11.substantiate (verb)

Hindi Meaning - सिद्ध करना, साबित करना
English Meaning - prove, justify, support, verify, validate, authenticate, vindicate.

12.charge (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आरोप, शुल्क, दावा
English Meaning - claim, accusation, allegation, indictment.

13.opponent (noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रतिद्वंद्वी
English Meaning - rival, adversary, contender, competitor.

14.underlying (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - आधारभूत, बुनियादी
English Meaning - fundamental, basic, primary.

15.misdeed (noun)

Hindi Meaning - दुष्कर्म, कुकर्म
English Meaning - criminal act, illegal act, crime, misconduct, offence.
 

16.hound (verb)

English Meaning - harass, persecute, bother, trouble, annoy, badger, torment, bully.

17.launder (verb)

English Meaning - to hide the source of something (particularly illegal wealth) by various methods.

18.unlaunder (verb)

English Meaning - to reveal the source of something by various methods.

19.functioning (noun)

English Meaning - operation, performance, behaviour.

20.end (noun)

English Meaning - intention, desire, aim, goal, purpose, objective.

21.scathing (adjective)

English Meaning - scornful, severely critical, harsh, severe (in criticizing someone).

22.term (verb)

English Meaning - describe as, call, label, name.

23.as far as (phrase)

English Meaning - to the extent that.

24.associate (noun)

English Meaning - colleague, partner, supporter, comrade.

25.proceeds (noun)

English Meaning - profits, earnings, returns, revenue, income.

26.schedule (noun)

English Meaning - an appendix (added section at the end) to a statute/law/act.

27.scheduled offence (noun)

English Meaning - an offence listed in a schedule to a statute indicating that the statute’s provisions apply to such offences.

28.offence (noun)

English Meaning - crime, misconduct, misdeed, wrongdoing, criminal act.

29.allege (verb)

English Meaning - claim, charge, accuse; assert, state strongly.

30.fraudulent (adjective)

English Meaning - dishonest, unlawful, unethical, unprincipled.

31.tenement (noun)

English Meaning - any kind of permanent property (held by an owner).

32.pertain (verb)

English Meaning - concern, relate to, be connected with, be relevant to.

33.amount to (verb)

English Meaning - be equal to, add up to, come to, represent.

34.proxy (noun)

English Meaning - agent, representative, trustee, delegate, spokesperson, mouthpiece.

35.misuse (noun)

English Meaning - wrong/illegal use, misemployment, exploitation, misapplication.

36.go by (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - follow; be guided.

37.indeed (adverb)

English Meaning - in fact, actually, undeniably.

38.disproportionate (adjective)

English Meaning - unreasonable, unfair; inordinate, immoderate, excessive.

39.activist (noun)

English Meaning - a person who supports a political change or cause; (or societal change/cause).

40.anti-terrorism (noun)

English Meaning - counter-terrorism; actions taken to combat or prevent terrorism.

41.mainstream (adjective)

English Meaning - accepted, established, recognized.

42.money laundering (noun)

English Meaning - a secret act of moving illegally acquired funds into legal bank accounts or investments.

43.first information report (FIR) (noun)

English Meaning - a written document prepared by the police when they receive information about the commission of a cognizable offence.

44.given (adjective)

English Meaning - specified, stated, agreed, particular, specific.

45.sardonic (adjective)

English Meaning - mocking, ironic, cynical, scornful, sharp, stinging.

46.proceed (verb)

English Meaning - go, get going, move, progress, advance, move forward.

47.trial (noun)

English Meaning - hearing, inquiry, litigation, judicial proceedings.

48.at a snail’s pace (idiom)

English Meaning - very slow, extremely slowly.

49.section 19 (power to arrest) of the PMLA Act (noun)

English Meaning - Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 empowers the investigating agency/ED to arrest any person who is guilty of money laundering under the Act.

50.section 45 (stringent conditions for bail) of the PMLA Act (noun)

English Meaning - Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) made offences to be cognizable and non-bailable and no person accused of an offence shall be released on bail or on his own bond unless the Public Prosecutor is given the opportunity to oppose the application for such release and where the Public Prosecutor opposes the application, the court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accused is not likely to commit any offence while on bail.

51.cognisable offence/crime (noun)

English Meaning - an offence for which, a police officer without any warrant has authority to arrest and to start an investigation with or without the permission of a court.

52.non-cognisable offence (noun)

English Meaning - an offence for which, a police officer without any warrant has no authority to arrest.

53.stringent (adjective)

English Meaning - strict, severe, extreme, rigorous.

54.the fact that (phrase)

English Meaning - used to refer to a specific situation under consideration/discussion.

55.hold (verb)

English Meaning - have, conduct, preside over.

56.hammer/drive something home (phrase)

English Meaning - to make someone clearly understand something by emphasizing it repeatedly.

57.prosecution (noun)

English Meaning - legal action, legal proceeding, legal case.

58.abysmally (adverb)

English Meaning - very badly, awfully, woefully, hopelessly, poorly, inadequately, appallingly, pathetically, shockingly.

59.conviction (noun)

English Meaning - sentence, judgement, verdict.

60.rush (verb)

English Meaning - hurry, hasten, run, race.

61.adverse (adjective)

English Meaning - hostile, unfavourable, unfriendly opposing, opposed, dissenting, inimical.

62.ought to (modal verb)

English Meaning - must, should.