SC upholds Maharashtra govt’s move to attach assets of 63 Moons
1 min read 22 Apr 2022, 09:57 PM ISTThe court also set aside an earlier Bombay High Court order of 2019.
PremiumMUMBAI : The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the Maharashtra government’s decision to attach the properties of 63 Moons Technologies Ltd pertaining to the alleged National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) scam. The court also set aside an earlier Bombay High Court order of 2019.
“The Maharashtra government’s decision was valid and hence the appeal was allowed. This court has held that the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (In Financial Establishments) Act, 1999 (MPID) is constitutionally valid on the grounds of legislative competence," justice D. Y. Chandrachud said in a 75-page order. “The high court ought not to have made observations on the merits of the criminal proceedings when the writ petition was restricted to the issue of whether NSEL is a financial establishment for the purpose of the MPID Act", the apex court said.
The state government’s MPID Act was to protect the middle class and poor depositors and allowed for graded distribution of funds among small depositors.
In 2019, the Bombay High court struck down the Maharashtra government’s order for attaching 63 Moons Technologies Ltd’s (formerly Financial Technologies India or FTIL) properties worth ₹2,500 crores in the ₹5,600 crore payment default of 2013 at its subsidiary NSEL. The court held that NSEL was not a financial establishment for the purpose of Maharashtra laws since it did not receive any deposits as defined under the MPID Act.
