ED vs Tasmac case: Madras HC raps TN govt for seeking SC transfer without notice
A division bench of Justices SM Subramaniam and K Rajasekar said the government had "insulted and disrespected" the court by failing to communicate that it had moved a transfer plea in the Supreme Court.
Madras High Court; Representative image
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Tuesday came down heavily on the Tamil Nadu Government for seeking to transfer the ED vs Tasmac case to the Supreme Court without informing the court.
A division bench of Justices SM Subramaniam and K Rajasekar said the government had "insulted and disrespected" the court by failing to communicate that it had moved a transfer plea in the Supreme Court.
The remark was made while hearing a plea filed by the state-run liquor outlet Tasmac (Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited) and the State government challenging raids conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Senior counsel Vikram Chaudhary for the Tasmac submitted that the ED, under the guise of a raid, committed several procedural irregularities and detained officials and employees of the corporation, including women, for more than 60 hours. He relied upon the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and submitted that on what power the ED carried out the raid, without scheduled offences or proceeds of crime, which are vital for PMLA proceedings, he said.
After the submission, special public prosecutor N Ramesh for ED asked for clarification about the oral order issued by the earlier bench that no coercive steps should further be taken.
The bench observed that "we are not going to pass any interim order in this regard and oral orders of the HC cannot be relied upon," and posted the matter to Wednesday.
Earlier in the morning, government pleader (GP) A Edwin Prabhakar sought a pass over, saying the transfer petition was listed before the SC, and would be taken up at any moment.
Aggrieved by this submission, Justice SM Subramaniam recalled, "In the last hearing, with the consent of the State, we had posted the matter to Tuesday for final hearing. After agreeing to that, now the government has moved a petition in the Supreme Court seeking to transfer the case without informing us, " he said, terming it an abuse of the high court's process.
The bench asked the GP: "What prevented the State from communicating to us that it has moved a petition in the apex court. By pleading to transfer the case, what is the idea of the State government?"
"Cases are lining up before us and we are struggling to dispose of the cases, even though time was granted to argue your case, but the State without informing us moved Supreme Court", observed the bench.
Continuing its criticism, the bench said, "Cases are lining up before us and we are struggling to dispose of them. Even though time was granted to argue your case, the State, without informing us, moved the Supreme Court."
Questioning the motive of the government, Justice SM Subramaniam asked, "Is the petition moved by the State for the benefit of the public or for some officials of Tasmac?"
The Government Pleader insisted that the move was intended for public interest and not meant to insult or disrespect the court. The State has every right to protect its citizens, he said.
When he sought to pass over the matter as the transfer petition was listed before the Supreme Court, the bench asked why it should wait. "Unless there is a stay order, we are not concerned," it observed.
