New Delhi “Don’t create an atmosphere of fear,” the Supreme Court told the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday as the Chhattisgarh government claimed that the federal agency was conducting a probe into an alleged liquor syndicate scam in the state without any jurisdiction and with the sole objective of implicating chief minister Bhupesh Baghel.
Senior counsel Kapil Sibal, representing the Congress government in the state, submitted that at least 52 officers of the state excise department have cited harassment and coercion by the agency to make incriminating statements against the CM and other senior functionaries. Sibal alleged that the “real target” of ED’s actions is the state CM, and that territorial jurisdiction and issues of legal propriety have been overlooked in carrying out a probe in alleged cases of corruption and extortion that are triable by the state police.
Responding to Sibal’s submissions, a bench of justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Ahsanuddin Amanullah asked the agency for its reply on the state government’s plea in a batch of matters relating to the liquor syndicate case.
“Let there be some confidence of common man in these agencies. Otherwise, even a bona fide cause becomes suspect,” the bench told the ED counsel.
{{/usCountry}}“Let there be some confidence of common man in these agencies. Otherwise, even a bona fide cause becomes suspect,” the bench told the ED counsel.
{{/usCountry}}The state government, in its plea, questioned the ED probe on the ground that the agency lacked the territorial jurisdiction and that there was no underlying predicate offence in this case.
When additional solicitor general SV Raju countered Sibal’s contentions, the bench told the law officer: “If there is a scam, you catch the right people. Don’t create an atmosphere of fear. It’s not that everybody is an accused...We are saying that you at least wait till a predicate offence is made out.”
To the court’s remarks, the ASG replied that there is a massive scam in Chhattisgarh that the agency has unearthed involving high-level government officials, private persons, and political executives. Raju added that the money laundering case stems from a 2022 income tax department charge sheet filed against IAS officer Anil Tuteja and others before a Delhi court which has also taken a cognisance of the matter.
At this, Sibal interrupted Raju to contend that the Delhi court has taken cognisance of only the offences pertaining to income tax and no cognisance was taken of any scheduled or predicate offence that ED can prosecute. “As such in law, no predicate offence exists on date. But ED is running amok in the state, beating and threatening officers, destabilising the government. And all this is being done to implicate the CM. There will be election in the state soon and we understand why this is happening,” said Sibal.
The court, on its part, told ASG Raju that the issue of territorial jurisdiction of ED in this case is yet to be settled in view of the manner in which the Delhi court has taken cognisance of the charge sheet in the matter. “There is still a flux regarding the predicate offence,” it said.
ED initiates prosecution under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) predicated on a base FIR registered by CBI or any other law enforcement agency. ED registers an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in order to probe the cases of money laundering related to the proceeds of crime which have been committed prior and an FIR for such an offence already exists.
If the base FIR is quashed or the accused is exonerated of the charges, ED cannot continue its probe under PMLA, the Supreme Court clarified in a ruling last year.
Raju said that ED will bring on record materials to show the legitimacy of its actions, as the court adjourned the matter after two weeks to enable the agency file a counter affidavit in response to the state government’s application.
The state had moved its impleadment plea in a petition filed by Anwar Dhebar, the elder brother of Raipur mayor and Congress leader Aijaz Dhebar, who was the first person to be arrested by the agency in this case on May 6. Anwar’s wife had also moved the top court seeking protection from arrest.
During the proceedings on Tuesday, ASG Raju said that ED will not arrest Anwar’s wife for the time being but pointed out that Anwar should be asked to move the jurisdictional court since he has been in custody of the agency following the orders of a Raipur court on Monday.
According to the agency, the scam involved selective grant of licences to liquor manufacturers for commission, distribution of the collected money, and collection of commission from liquor shops. Last week, ED arrested Arunpati Tripathi, the special secretary of the Chhattisgarh Excise Department, along with three others, including Anwar.
Last Thursday, Baghel said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been misusing ED as its “subordinate organisation”. “Our claim that the ED has been acting as an agent of the BJP has proved right. The way it has been threatening people to implicate them in false cases, they are now trying to implicate me in the alleged excise scam. Their main aim is to defame the Congress government,” he told reporters.
Reacting to the order, state BJP spokesperson, Sachchidanand Upasane, said: “If SC has given such statement the ED should seriously look into it and follow the guidelines of the agency.”