India, Oct. 18 -- The Delhi High Court (HC) on Friday said that a coal block allocation letter constitutes "property" within the meaning of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), adding that "intangible property" has assumed immense legal and commercial significance in modern era.

A bench of justices Anil Kshetarpaland and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar said that the coal block allocation letter was an instrument evidencing a right or interest to obtain a mining lease from the Government and extract coal through its utilisation.

The bench made the observation while overturning a single-judge judgment of July 2022, which had held that mere allocation of coal block cannot be termed as proceeds of crime under the PMLA. "Since the allo...