Delhi High Court sets aside DRI proceedings against Hero Group chairman Pawan Munjal

Pawan Munjal CMD- Hero MotoCorp

The Delhi High Court has set aside a case of possession of "excess foreign currency" registered against Hero Motocorp Chairman Pawan Kant Munjal by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).

"The petition is allowed, the proceedings are set aside," Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri said on July 24, months after granting an interim stay on Munjal's petition challenging the case.

The decision will likely strengthen Munjal's petition against the Enforcement Directorate proceedings, as the DRI case was based on the ED's money-laundering investigation against the industrialist.

In November, the court stayed the proceedings and said Munjal was exonerated by the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on the same set of facts, which was not disclosed to the trial court.

The interim order was passed on November 3 on a petition by Munjal seeking to quash the complaint pending before the magistrate and an earlier order passed by the trial court.

DRI in 2023 filed a complaint for "carrying, attempting to export and illicit export of prohibited items, that is, foreign currency" against Munjal, a third-party service provider, SEMPL, individuals identified as Amit Bali, Hemant Dahiya, KR Raman and others.

The ED also registered a case the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which stemmed from the DRI charge sheet.

The ED alleged SEMPL "illegally exported foreign currency equivalent to about Rs 54 crore to various countries during the period 2014-2015 to 2018-2019 which was ultimately used for personal expenses of P K Munjal".

ED also alleged that SEMPL got foreign exchange to the tune of about Rs 14 crore in the name of its officials/employees over and above the annual permissible limit of $2,50,000 in various financial years. SEMPL also drew foreign exchange/ travel forex cards in huge amounts in the name of employees who didn’t even travel abroad, it claimed.