Standard Chartered Bank And Others vs Directorate Of Enforcement And Others

The Supreme Court addressed the constitutional validity of Sections 50, 51, 56, and 68 of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 (FERA), holding that these provisions do not violate Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. The Court clarified that a company can be prosecuted under FERA despite the inability to impose imprisonment on it, affirming that such prosecution is valid for penal offences. The appeals were allowed in part, with the Court upholding the applicability of FERA provisions to the appellant bank and its officers.