The Supreme Court judgment that spells out the powers of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) will have far reaching implications for India’s democracy, the Congress said on July 27.
In a statement, the party’s communication chief Jairam Ramesh, who had moved the Supreme Court to examine whether or not the Prevention of the Money Laundering Act (PMLA) can be classified as a Money Bill, noted that the court has referred the matter raised by him to a larger Bench.
“The judgment pronounced by the Hon’ble Supreme Court on the powers of the Enforcement Directorate today will have far-reaching implications for our democracy, especially when Governments are anchored in political vendetta,” Mr. Ramesh said.
The Congress leader said that he had moved the top court on the “blatant misuse” of the Money Bill route by the Modi government on the amendments made to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
“The Supreme Court had issued notice on my petition on July 2, 2019. This question remains unresolved in today’s judgment. However, the Hon’ble Court has agreed that they “are conscious of the fact that if that ground of challenge is to be accepted, it may go to the root of the matter and amendments effected vide Finance Act would become unconstitutional or ineffective.” The Hon’ble Court has left these matters to be decided by a larger Bench. This is a matter of some gratification,”Mr Ramesh added.
Earlier, in the day, a Bench headed by Justice A. M. Khanwilkar said authorities under the 2002 Act are “not police officers as such” and the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) cannot be equated with an FIR under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The three-judge Bench said the supply of an ECIR copy in every case to the person concerned is not mandatory and it is enough if ED, at the time of arrest, discloses the grounds of such arrest.
