The Supreme Court on Monday flagged the Enforcement Directorate’s “pattern” of making allegations against individuals.
“We have seen a number of complaints of ED. This is the pattern – just make allegations without any reference to anything,” Justice Abhay Oka orally observed during the hearing of the bail plea of a money-laundering accused in the Rs. 2,000-crore Chhattisgarh liquor scam, as reported by legal news websites.
“You have made a specific allegation that he earned 40 crores, now you are not able to show connection of this man with this or any other company,” Justice Oka told additional solicitor general S.V. Raju. “You should state whether he is the director of these companies whether he is majority shareholder, whether he is managing director. Something has to be there.”
The ASG assured the bench he will submit the details on Tuesday.
“A person can be controlling a company need not necessarily be responsible for the conduct of a company. I will show from the statements how he is connected to the company,” Raju told the bench.
The high profile case from Chhattisgarh had resulted in the residence of Chaitanya Baghel, son of former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, being raided around two months ago.
The ED had alleged that high-level state officials, individuals and political leaders had carried out the scam in which around Rs 2,000 crore was taken as bribe from distillers and country liquor was being sold off the books.
On April 29, at another hearing in the same matter, the Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan had observed: “Investigation will go on its own speed. It will go on till eternity. Three chargesheets have been filed. You are virtually penalising the person by keeping him in custody. You have made the process a punishment.”
This is not the first time that the central probe agencies have come under fire from the apex court.
While hearing the bail plea of former Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee in November last year, a bench of Justice Bhuyan and Justice Surya Kant had commented on the poor conviction rate of the ED.
“Mr ASG what is your conviction rate for ED?... it is very poor… we would have understood if it was 60 to 70 per cent,” the bench had observed.
On August 6 last year, the junior home minister Nityanand Rai had informed Parliament that of the 5,297 cases registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act from 2014 to 2024, convictions were made in 40 cases and three persons were acquitted.
Days later a three-judge bench of Justice Surya Kant, Justice Dipankar Dutta and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan had told the ED to conduct scientific investigations.
“You need to concentrate on the quality of prosecution and evidence. All the cases where you are satisfied that a prima facie case is made out, you need to establish those cases in the court,” the bench had said.
“You need to concentrate on the quality of prosecution and evidence. All the cases where you are satisfied that a prima facie case is made out, you need to establish those cases in the court,” the bench had told ASG Raju, who was appearing for the ED,
Delhi High Court too had pulled up the ED for causing delay in trial, while granting bail to an accused in a money laundering case in the alleged Delhi Waqf Board scam.
“The state and its agencies are expected to be equal votaries of liberty. Instead of channelizing their energy and resources for a speedy trial,” the high court had observed.
