Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 Section 5: Provisional Attachment of Property (2026)
What Section 5 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 does: it lets the Enforcement Directorate provisionally attach property it believes is proceeds of crime, for up to 180 days, before the Adjudicating Authority confirms it. Last verified October 2026.
Explainer · Criminal Law · PMLA
Section 5 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) is the power the Enforcement Directorate (ED) uses to freeze property. It lets a senior ED officer provisionally attach property that is believed to be proceeds of crime, so that the property cannot be sold, transferred or hidden while the case goes on. A provisional attachment lasts for 180 days unless confirmed earlier. Within that window the matter goes to the Adjudicating Authority, which decides under Section 8 whether to confirm the attachment. This explainer sets out who can attach, on what grounds, for how long, and what happens next. Last verified October 2026.
- What it is: Section 5 lets the ED provisionally attach property believed to be proceeds of crime.
- Who can order: the Director, or an officer not below Deputy Director authorised by the Director, with reasons in writing.
- How long: up to 180 days, then it must be confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority under Section 8 or it lapses.
- Effect: you cannot deal with the property, but it is not confiscated yet.
01The short point
In a PMLA case, the first thing you may lose is not your freedom but the use of your property. Section 5 is how that happens. The ED can issue a provisional attachment order over money, bank accounts, land, shares or other property it believes to be proceeds of crime.
Attachment does not mean the property is taken away for good. It means you cannot deal with it for the time being. The order is provisional, it has a life of 180 days, and it has to be confirmed by a separate authority before it can continue.
02What Section 5 says
Section 5 allows a provisional attachment order where the officer has reason to believe, recorded in writing, that:
- a person is in possession of proceeds of crime; and
- those proceeds are likely to be concealed, transferred or dealt with in a way that may frustrate any proceeding for confiscation.
The idea in one line
The ED freezes the suspect property early, so it is still there if the court later orders confiscation.
The order attaches the property for a period that cannot exceed 180 days from the date of the order, or until an order is made by the Adjudicating Authority under Section 8, whichever is relevant.
03Who can attach and on what grounds
The power belongs to the Director, or to an officer not below the rank of Deputy Director authorised by the Director. It is not an ordinary police power; it is exercised by senior ED officers.
There are safeguards built in. The officer must record the reason to believe in writing, and must usually have material connecting the property to a scheduled offence. After making the order, the officer forwards a copy of the order, along with the material, to the Adjudicating Authority, and files a complaint before it. This forwarding is generally done within 30 days under Section 5(5).
04The 180-day clock
The 180 days is the heart of Section 5 in practice. A provisional attachment cannot run on its own forever. Within the 180 days, the Adjudicating Authority must decide under Section 8 whether to confirm the attachment.
If the attachment is not confirmed within 180 days, the order ceases to have effect, and the property is released. Courts have had to work out exactly what happens if the authority does not act in time, and whether periods excluded by court orders count. The 180-day limit is therefore a live battleground in PMLA litigation.
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| Day 0 | ED passes the provisional attachment order |
| Within 30 days | Order and material forwarded to the Adjudicating Authority with a complaint |
| Within 180 days | Adjudicating Authority decides under Section 8 whether to confirm |
| After 180 days, if not confirmed | Attachment ceases to have effect |
05Key case law
- Gobindo Das v. Union of India (Calcutta High Court): the court held that a provisional attachment ceases to be valid after 180 days where no confirmation order is passed under Section 8(3). It also held that a COVID-era Supreme Court order extending limitation could not be used to automatically extend the life of a provisional attachment.
- Divided High Courts: the Bombay and Delhi High Courts have taken different positions on exactly what happens when the 180-day clock runs out, so the law on lapse is not uniform across the country.
Because of this, the dates on an attachment order matter as much as its merits.
06A practical note
If your property is attached under Section 5, the key steps are usually these:
- Check the dates. Note the date of the order and track the 180-day window and the Section 8 confirmation.
- Contest before the right forum. The attachment is contested before the Adjudicating Authority, and then the Appellate Tribunal, not the criminal court.
- Test the link. Ask whether the ED can really show the property is proceeds of crime.
For the full attachment and appeal ladder, see how a PMLA case works in practice. This explainer is general information, not legal advice.
07Where Claw fits
Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.
An attachment case lives on dates and precedent: the 180-day lapse, the Section 8 confirmation, and how High Courts have read Section 5 on facts like yours. Claw lets you search more than 30 crore judgments on Section 5 attachment and the 180-day question, with Supreme Court rulings from 1950 and High Court rulings from 1990, and results in under 5 seconds. You can also track the attachment proceeding, with its orders and hearings, before the Adjudicating Authority, the Appellate Tribunal and the High Court, across 9,102 courts, benches and forums.
Your case papers are never used to train the AI models behind Claw. Create a free Claw account to follow an attachment timeline and research Section 5 rulings, and use case search across Indian courts for the wider law.
08Sources and further reading
- India Code (official text of the PMLA, 2002): indiacode.nic.in
- Enforcement Directorate (official): enforcementdirectorate.gov.in
- PRS Legislative Research (PMLA background): prsindia.org
- Claw: clawlaw.in
This explainer is general information, not legal advice. PMLA law on attachment is fast moving, so check the current provisions and the latest rulings, and take advice from counsel before you act.
09Frequently asked questions
What is provisional attachment under Section 5 of the PMLA?
It is an order by which the Enforcement Directorate freezes property it believes to be proceeds of crime, so it cannot be sold, transferred or hidden while the case goes on. The order lasts up to 180 days unless confirmed earlier.
Who can order a provisional attachment?
The Director, or an officer not below the rank of Deputy Director authorised by the Director. The officer must record the reason to believe in writing and usually have material linking the property to a scheduled offence.
How long does a PMLA attachment last?
A provisional attachment under Section 5 lasts up to 180 days. Within that period the Adjudicating Authority must decide under Section 8 whether to confirm it. If it is not confirmed in time, the attachment ceases to have effect.
Where do I challenge a Section 5 attachment?
The attachment is contested before the Adjudicating Authority, and then on appeal before the Appellate Tribunal and the High Court. It is not decided by the criminal court trying the offence.
Does attachment mean my property is taken away?
No. Attachment means you cannot deal with the property for the time being. Confiscation is a separate, later step that depends on the outcome of the case.
Can I track an attachment case in Claw?
Yes. Claw lets you search more than 30 crore judgments on Section 5 and the 180-day question, in under 5 seconds, and track the attachment proceeding before the Adjudicating Authority, the Appellate Tribunal and the High Court across 9,102 courts, benches and forums. It researches and tracks the matter but does not give legal advice.