BNS Offences Qualify as Scheduled Offences Under PMLA Even Without Formal Amendment: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court ruled that "offenses under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) qualify as scheduled offenses under PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act), even without formal amendment." The court clarified that the BNS, being the new criminal code replacing the Indian Penal Code (IPC), effectively incorporates offenses that were already 'scheduled' under the PMLA. This means that even without specific legislative amendments to the PMLA list, crimes defined under BNS, if corresponding to existing scheduled offenses, will trigger PMLA proceedings.