Money laundering case: No interim relief to TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, wife
The Delhi high court further asked the ED to reply within three days to an appeal from the couple challenging the summons issued in an alleged coal mining scam.
The Delhi high court on Tuesday refused to grant any interim relief to Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee and his wife Rujira against the summons from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case. The court fixed the date for the next hearing to September 27.
It also asked the central agency to reply within three days to an appeal from the couple challenging the summons issued in an alleged coal mining scam. The petitioners had sought the court's direction in setting aside the summons. Abhishek and Rujira wanted the ED to be directed to not summon them to the national capital and carry out any further examination in Kolkata.
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The matter was listed before Justice Yogesh Khanna for hearing.
Banerjee, who is also the nephew of Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, was issued summons under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, that required personal appearance of him along with a voluminous set of documents.
The ED opposed the plea saying money laundering has national and trans national ramifications and its investigation is not restricted to any police station or area.
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The petitioners alleged they had serious apprehensions about the fairness of the investigation being conducted by the ED owing to the fact that the respondent was adopting a pick-and-choose attitude with respect to certain persons and was giving undue benefit and protection to complicit individuals and extracting false, baseless and malicious statements from them.
"The respondent agency is also selectively leaking information to the media with the intent of harming the reputation of the petitioners and encouraging a media trial, the details of which are further elaborated in the accompanying petition, in order to falsely embroil the Petitioners in baseless and scandalous allegations," read their plea.
The CBI has already interrogated the TMC leader in the case.
(With agency inputs)