The transfer of Enforcement Directorate Assistant Director Niranjan Singh, who was the investigating officer in the Rs. 6,000 crore drugs money laundering case, in which Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia was also questioned, has been stayed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Hearing a petition filed by a non-government organisation, Lawyers for Human Rights International, a Division Bench of Justice S.K. Mittal and Depak Sibal, stayed the transfer of the office to Kolkata till February 2, the next date of hearing.
Advocate Navkiran Singh, who appeared on behalf of the petitioners, said “the court was told that Niranjan Singh was investigating the Rs. 6,000 crore drug racket. It is an international racket in which politicians and police officers are involved.”
The advocate said “the politicians involved are from Akali Dal as also the Congress.and so there is a lot of pressure on the Enforcement Directorate”. Further, he said the petition had stated that the investigating officers should not have been transferred and should have been allowed to stay and investigate the case.
Mr. Navkiran Singh also argued that while the ostensible reason being given out by ED for the transfer of Mr. Singh from Jalandhar to Kolkata was that he was an efficient officer and thus his presence was required in Kolkata to investigate the Sharda chit fund scam, the fact of the matter was that the drug racket case was no less important. “Is this drug case any less important.”
Mr. Singh said on hearing the argument, the High Court stayed the ED order on transfer and posted the hearing for February 2.
The Bench also summoned the record from the Centre on the next hearing in the case.
