Tamil Nadu Government asks SC if ED has power to probe ‘any offence’ in the country

Defiant Tamil Nadu challenges ED's jurisdiction in sand mining probe, Supreme Court to decide, ED accuses State of hindering investigation.

Faced with the Supreme Court’s repeated refrain from cooperating with a Directorate of Enforcement (ED) probe into “illegal” sand mining, a defiant Tamil Nadu asked the court on February 26 to first declare that the Central probe agency has the power to investigate “any offence” in the country.

Appearing before a Bench of Justices Bela Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal, Tamil Nadu counsel, senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Amit Anand Tiwari, firmly said the ED had no jurisdiction under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to investigate sand mining.

They said the agency could not just summon five District Collectors under the PMLA and ask them to bring along their Aadhaar copies, passport size photos, list of sand mining sites, GPS coordinates of the mining sites, etc.

Mr. Sibal said sand mining was not a scheduled offence listed under the PMLA. Besides, the FIRs registered in the sand mining affair relate to the districts of Thanjavur, Dindigul, Theni, and Thoothukudi. However, the ED had issued summons to the District Collectors of Vellore, Ariyalur, Karur and Tiruchi.

“But your officers should help the ED investigate these offences,” Justice Mithal told Mr. Sibal.

“If that is so, then Your Lordships may say the ED can investigate any offence in this country... Please say that...,” Mr. Sibal responded.

He pointed to Section 66(2) of the PMLA to show that it was the ED that was supposed to cooperate with the States.