HC directs Karvy and ED to maintain status quo on the properties attached

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Thursday directed the status quo on the Karvy Group properties that were earlier provisionally attached by the Enforcement Directorate and later unfrozen on the orders of a single judge bench.

A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice N.V. Shravan Kumar said it would hear the petitions filed by the ED and the Karvy Group for final disposal on November 7.

After the ED had seized the properties after the Karvy Stock Broking scam, the company had contended that the property and records were seized on September 22, 2021, and the freeze on assets was passed way beyond the 180-day deadline, on September 24, 2022.

The adjudicating authority consisted of a single member who had no experience in law and could neither issue a show cause notice under Section 8(1) of the PMLA Act nor pass an order confirming the provisional attachment of the properties.

The single judge on October 19, 2022, suspended the orders of the Adjudicating Authority. Challenging the same, the ED filed appeals.