E-Paper
HC notice to ED, registrar general on complaint against a judicial officer
The high court bench of justice GS Sandhawalia and justice Lapita Banerji has sought a response from the ED, and high court administration by January 24
The Punjab and Haryana high court has issued notice of motion in a plea seeking directions to the enforcement directorate (ED) to investigate a complaint against a Faridkot judge.
The high court bench of justice GS Sandhawalia and justice Lapita Banerji has sought a response from the ED, and high court administration by January 24.
The plea from one Mahavir Kumar of Bathinda alleges that a complaint was sent to ED against a Faridkot judge on September 23, for alleged money laundering in the acquisition of more than two dozen properties worth crores.
As per the petition, some of the properties were purchased in the name of the judge’s son, who was unemployed at that time, and other properties were purchased in the name of the judge’s mother-in-law, who also did not have any source of income. “...these properties were disproportionate to his known sources of income,” the plea alleged.
During the hearing, the high court bench asked the counsels of the petitioner, senior advocate Rajwinder Singh Bains and HC Arora as to how direction can be issued to the ED to register a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering (PML) Act, in the absence of any FIR having been registered. The lawyers had submitted that an identical complaint was filed by the petitioner on September 23, 2022, and was being considered by the high court on the administrative side and even the statement and evidence of the petitioner in the said complaint were recorded, although the final outcome of the proceedings are not known.
Arora said that the high court while issuing notice of motion, directed the registrar general of the high court to inform the bench about the status of the administrative enquiry on the adjourned date.
