Srinagar: The J&K High Court on Tuesday quashed a communication by the Assistant Director, Enforcement Directorate, to Tehsildar Narbal, Budgam, which said that revenue extracts should not be issued to properties that earlier belonged to businessman Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, who was arrested in 2017 by the National Investigation Agency in a money-laundering case.
Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey while granting relief to the third-party owners of the property earlier belonging to Watali quashed the communication dated 18 March 2020 issued by Assistant Director, Enforcement Directorate, to Tehsildar Narbal, Budgam. The court said, “Assistant Director is nobody either in terms of the provision of Section 5(1) of the Act or in terms of Rule 5 of the Prevention of Money-laundering (Taking Possession of Attached or Frozen Properties Confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority) Rules, 2013, which prescribes the manner of taking possession of immovable property.”
Justice Magrey recorded that it is not permissible for the designated officer of Directorate of Enforcement, acting under the provisions of Act, to ask the Tehsildar, Narbal, Budgam, not to issue revenue extracts vis-à-vis the properties which have not been attached under Section 5 of the said Act and have, in fact, been left out of attachment.
“The question of doing so by the Assistant Director, ED who is neither the Director nor an officer of the rank not below the rank of Deputy Director and authorised by the Director under sub-section (1) of Section 5 for the purpose, is even remote, impermissible and without jurisdiction,” the court said.
In consequence thereof, the court said, “If there is any application for issuance of revenue extracts pending or filed before the Tehsildar or before the concerned officials subordinate to him vis-à-vis such earlier properties of Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali as are not presently attached by the competent authority under Section 5 of the Act, the concerned officer is directed to proceed therein in accordance with the law governing the subject.”
Earlier, the buyers of the residential plots and apartments, Trison Farms and Construction Company, approached the Tehsildar, Narbal Budgam, for issue of revenue extracts in order to enable them to register their sale deeds.
“However, the concerned officer arbitrarily did not provide the same to them, citing the attachment by Enforcement Directorate as ground for the same, even though the said lands/apartments were not subject matter of any attachment under the attachment orders in question,” the petitioner company stated.

NUSRAT SIDIQ