The Jharkhand High Court on Monday 22 December 2025 refused to interfere with money laundering proceedings against former IAS officer Pooja Singhal, ruling that absence of prior government sanction did not invalidate the trial court’s decision to take cognizance under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Justice Ambuj Nath dismissed Singhal’s writ petition challenging the Special Court’s cognizance order in an Enforcement Directorate case involving alleged diversion of government funds running into crores.
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Background of the Case
The case originates from an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate into alleged large-scale financial irregularities linked to multiple development projects in Jharkhand’s Khunti district.
According to the prosecution, Singhal, while serving as Deputy Commissioner, was accused of sanctioning funds beyond her authority in connivance with engineers and contractors. The probe followed 13 FIRs registered by Jharkhand Police and an audit report flagging defalcation of government money.
During searches conducted in 2022, the ED claimed to have recovered nearly ₹19.76 crore in cash and incriminating documents from premises linked to Singhal and her associates. She was arrested on May 11, 2022, after allegedly failing to explain the source of the seized money.
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Singhal approached the High Court seeking quashing of the Special Court’s cognizance order dated July 19, 2022. Her central argument was that she was a public servant and, therefore, prosecution could not proceed without prior sanction under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Her counsel relied on recent Supreme Court rulings to argue that sanction is mandatory when alleged acts are connected to official duties. “The law is settled that courts cannot take cognizance without sanction where protection under Section 197 applies,” the defence submitted.
The Enforcement Directorate countered this claim by stating that the alleged acts had no reasonable connection with official duty.
“The protection under Section 197 is not meant to shield corrupt officers,” ED’s counsel argued, stressing that siphoning public money and accumulating unexplained wealth cannot be treated as official acts merely because they occurred during service tenure.
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Court’s Observations
Justice Ambuj Nath carefully examined the scope of Section 197 CrPC and noted that its protection applies only to acts reasonably connected with official duties.
The court observed, “Accumulating ill-gotten wealth by siphoning State funds cannot be said to be part of official duty of any public servant.”
The judge further clarified that sanction is intended to prevent vexatious prosecution, not to act as a blanket immunity for illegal personal acts carried out under the guise of office.
Addressing the technical plea, the High Court held that even if sanction were required, it could be obtained at any stage before judgment and does not automatically vitiate cognizance at the threshold.
“The issue of sanction can be examined during trial depending on the evidence led by the prosecution,” the bench noted during oral observations.
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Final Decision
In its final ruling, the High Court declined to quash the cognizance order passed by the PMLA Special Court.
Holding that the alleged acts were prima facie personal and illegal rather than official, the court dismissed the writ petition and allowed the prosecution to continue.
Accordingly, the case against Pooja Singhal under Sections 3 and 4 of the PMLA will proceed before the Special Court.
Case Title: Pooja Singhal vs Directorate of Enforcement
Case No.: W.P. (Cr.) No. 1043 of 2024
Case Type: Criminal Writ Petition (PMLA)
Decision Date: 22 December 2025
