IANS | 06 May, 2024
The Supreme Court on Monday remarked that the District Collectors in
Tamil Nadu cannot be unnecessarily "harassed" by the Enforcement
Directorate (ED) in the illegal sand mining case.
A bench, headed
by Justice Bela M. Trivedi, was apprised by senior advocate Kapil
Sibal, representing the state government, that District Collectors, who
appeared at the ED office in Chennai pursuant to the apex court's order,
were made to sit from morning till late in the evening.
Deprecating
the central agency’s conduct, the Bench, also comprising Justice Pankaj
Mithal, said: "You cannot do that…Do not harass them unnecessarily."
During
the hearing, the counsel appearing for the ED alleged that the district
collectors did not furnish the desired information sought in the
summons. However, the submission met opposition from the state
government.
Posting the matter for hearing after summer vacations,
the apex court asked ED to file an affidavit describing the documents
or information not supplied by the District Collectors.
In an
earlier hearing, the top court had castigated the District Collectors
for not appearing before the federal investigative agency despite its
directions to appear and respond to the summons. It had said that, in
its prima facie view, a person is obliged under the Prevention of Money
Laundering Act to respect and respond to the summons issued by the ED.
"You
are bound to respond to the summons. Let them (District Collectors)
appear," the apex court told the state government as it stayed the
interim orders passed by the Madras High Court which had paused the
operation of the summons issued to the District Collectors.