NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain an Enforcement Directorate’s petition against guidelines imposed by the Calcutta high court that restrained the agency from disclosing information about its probe before filing the charge sheet in the Rujira Banerjee case.
The restrictions were placed by the high court in October last year on a petition by Rujira Banerjee, wife of Abhishek Banerjee, a Trinamool Congress MP, in connection with the agency’s money laundering probe into the alleged teacher recruitment scam. Rujira Banerjee had alleged that the central probe agencies and the media were indulging in character assassination and tarnishing her family by regularly publishing information regarding the probe being carried out by the agencies, including ED.
A bench of justices Hrishikesh Roy and PK Mishra told the agency to withdraw its petition before the top court and approach the high court. “It is an interim order. You withdraw and file your response before the high court or else we are dismissing it.”
Additional solicitor general (ASG) SV Raju initially indicated reluctance to withdraw the case. “The order is in the nature of a final relief. Nothing remains in this case as guidelines have been issued.” The bench, however, pointed out that it was still open for ED to file its response before the high court as the matter is pending over there and turned down Raju’s request to keep the matter pending till the high court takes up the case.
{{/usCountry}}Additional solicitor general (ASG) SV Raju initially indicated reluctance to withdraw the case. “The order is in the nature of a final relief. Nothing remains in this case as guidelines have been issued.” The bench, however, pointed out that it was still open for ED to file its response before the high court as the matter is pending over there and turned down Raju’s request to keep the matter pending till the high court takes up the case.
{{/usCountry}}In her petition that led to the October 17 order of the high court, Rujira Banerjee accused the probe agencies of selective leaks to hurt her family’s reputation. Her petition alleged that such leaks affected her privacy and denied her a fair trial. Abhishek Banerjee is the nephew of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
The high court issued guidelines asking all central probe agencies not to disclose any information to the public or media about the raids, searches and interrogations in connection with any accused, suspect or witness in the case concerning the petitioner before filing the charge sheet.
The high court order, applicable only to Rujira, said, “the investigating agencies shall not disclose to the public or the media the circumstances, reasons and/or details of the interrogation, raids and search of any particular person, be he/she an accused, a suspect or a witness.”
The order further directed the federal agencies not to give advance information to media or allow them to accompany the probe teams during any raid, interrogation, or search and seizures.
In the same order, the high court also asked the media to report objectively and fairly based on concrete material.
It also asked the media to refrain from publishing photographs of any person linked to the investigation of the case and directed them not to publish or broadcast or telecast live video, audio or print footage of the raid, search and seizure, or interrogation by the agency. These directions were to be effective till January 15. No order has since been passed modifying these directions.