A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai has discharged Dewan Housing Finance Corp Ltd (DHFL) from a money-laundering case involving about INR 5,050 crore, holding that the company is entitled to immunity under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) after completion of its resolution process. The court observed that DHFL, as a corporate entity, cannot face prosecution for offences committed prior to the start of insolvency proceedings once a resolution plan has been approved and management has changed.
The court relied on Section 32A of the IBC, which provides protection to a corporate debtor from criminal liability for past offences once a resolution plan…