$~3 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + W.P.(CRL) 1123/2020 & CRL.M.A. 9892/2020 DR KANWAR DEEP SINGH .....Petitioner Through: Mr.Rishi Sehgal, Adv. versus UNION OF INDIA & ORS. .....Respondents Through: Mr.Zoheb Hossain, Spl. Counsel for ED with Mr.Vivek Gurnani, Panel Counsel, Mr.Pranjal Tripathi and Mr.Sidharth Bajaj, Advs. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE NAVIN CHAWLA HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAVINDER DUDEJA O R D E R % 07.07.2026 1. This Writ Petition has been filed by the petitioner under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India, inter-alia, praying for the following reliefs: “A. Read down the provisions of Section 50(2) of PMLA so as to bring it in harmony & sync with the fundamental rights of the Petitioner as guaranteed under Articles 14, 19, 20 & 21 of the Constitution as also to save the said provision from being rendered unconstitutional & ultra vires and consequently hold that:- i) Digital devices, especially mobile phones, fall within the right to privacy which has been held to be a concomitant of right to life and liberty as guaranteed under Article 21, by a 9 Judges Bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the landmark judgment in Justice K. S. Puttaswamy Vs. Union of India (2017) 10 This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 10/07/2026 at 11:55:01 SCC 1; ii) Unlocking the mobile phones and/or viewing the contents thereof would violate the right not to self-incriminate as guaranteed by Article 20(3) of the Indian Constitution akin to the Fifth Amendment of the U.S Constitution as infused and read into the Indian Constitution; iii) Right against self-incrimination is to be read as a concomitant of “personal liberty” under Article 21 and therefore, compelling an individual to press a finger or utilize biometric features for the purpose of unlocking digital devices found during a search would run afoul of Article 20(3) of Constitution; iv) Investigating Agency has a right to investigate freely and in a manner it chooses, but cannot overstep the circumscribed limits which invade into the right to privacy of a person. B. Read down the provisions of Section 26 & 35 of PMLA so as to delineate the ambit, scope and sweep of the powers of the Appellate Tribunal for the purpose of discharge of its functions while entertaining an appeal from the orders of Adjudicating Authority under PMLA; C. Quash/set aside the Order dated 30.06.2020 passed by the Appellate Tribunal under PMLA in MP-PMLA-7187/DLI/2020 (Annexure P-1) as the same is in complete violation of the fundamental rights of the Petitioner guaranteed under Articles 14, 19, 20 & 21 of the Constitution;” 2. The learned senior counsel for the respondents submits that the present petition has been rendered infructuous in as much as the writ petitioner had, inter alia, challenged the denial of an interim order passed by the learned Appellate Tribunal by way of its Order dated 30.06.2020 in the Appeal being FPA-PMLA-3575/DLI/2020. The said This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 10/07/2026 at 11:55:01 appeal has since been disposed of by the learned Appellate Tribunal vide its Order dated 30.04.2025, which for the sake of convenience we reproduce as under: “By these batch of appeals, a challenge has been made to order passed by the Adjudicating Authority to confirming the retention of the documents and digital devices seized during the course of search operation. The Ld. Counsel for the Respondent submits that all the digital devices and the documents are now part of the prosecution complaint which has been mentioned in Paragraph 3.8 of the prosecution complaint with a copy to the Counsel for the Appellant. In the light of the facts given above, the documents and digital devices having been made part of the prosecution complaint, thus would be relied in the evidence during the course of trial and accordingly, remains reason to retain those documents and digital devices till conclusion of the trial. Hence, ordered to be released. An order for release could have been passed if documents and digital devices would not have been relied in the prosecution complaint or made part of it but the facts remains that the documents and digital devices are part of the prosecution complaint. Thus, an order for its release cannot be given and accordingly, with an appropriate observation made above, the appeals are disposed of.” 3. Though the learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petition would still be maintainable and as it raises important issues of law and, in as much as, there is a challenge to Section 50(2) of the Prevention Of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (‘PMLA’), we are not inclined to accept the said submission. 4. The above issue has arisen in light of the Order dated This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 10/07/2026 at 11:55:01 30.06.2020, which, as has been pointed out by the learned counsel for the respondent, has now merged into a final order of the learned Appellate Tribunal, whereby the appeal filed by the petitioner has been disposed of. 5. This Court, therefore, would not like to do an academic exercise to determine the validity or scope of Section 50(2) of the PMLA, in a matter which otherwise is now rendered infructuous, specifically in light of the fact that the Order dated 30.04.2025 passed by the learned Appellate Tribunal has attained finality and has not been challenged by the petitioner till date. 6. In view of the above, leaving all questions of law open, we dispose of the Writ Petition as having been rendered infructuous. The pending application also stands disposed of. NAVIN CHAWLA, J RAVINDER DUDEJA, J JULY 7, 2026/sg/nj This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 10/07/2026 at 11:55:01