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Sand mining case: HC stays ED summons to 5 Tamil Nadu collectors
According to ED, the sale value from illegal sand mining in the state in the last two years amounted to ₹4,730 crore
The Madras high court on Tuesday stayed the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) summons to five Tamil Nadu district collectors in an alleged illegal sand mining case but allowed the federal agency to proceed with its probe.
A bench comprising justices SS Sundar and Sunder Mohan granted the interim stay while hearing a batch of five petitions, filed separately by the state government, against the ED summons issued to Ariyalur, Karur, Vellore, Thanjavur and Trichy collectors on November 17, asking them to appear in person on various dates with details of sand mining in their respective districts.
“The Madras high court stayed the summons issued to five district collectors. We argued before the court that ED has no jurisdiction to investigate this,” Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader NR Elango told news agency ANI.
According to ED, the sale value from illegal sand mining in the state in the last two years amounted to ₹4,730 crore, as against the state’s recorded revenue of ₹36 crore.
On November 17, ED, which is probing the matter under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), summoned the five collectors for information on sand mines and asked them to appear in person with their Aadhaar cards.
Elango said that ED should have informed the state government before initiating any action in the case. “If it came across irregularities happening, ED should have informed the state government under section 66 of the PMLA. Rather, ED is investigating by itself. Finding truth in our arguments, the court stayed the summons issued,” he said.
In an affidavit in the court on Monday, ED alleged that officials of the state’s water resources department said they were asked by the department minister and senior DMK leader S Duraimurugan to either skip or delay appearing before the agency.
The state, in its petitions filed on behalf of the five collectors, sought quashing of the ED summons, calling it unreasonable and in violation of the PMLA and the Constitution.
The MK Stalin-led government also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre of misusing central probe agencies to harass, undermine and usurp the powers of states which are not ruled by them.
This “fishing and roving enquiry” is an abuse of process and cannot be permitted, the state said.
There was no immediate reaction from the BJP on the state government’s accusation.
