EW News :
The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) cannot arrest an individual solely for non-cooperation in response to a summons issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002.A detailed 32-page judgment, a bench of Justices A S Bopanna and Sanjay Kumar, asserted that “mere non-cooperation of a witness in response to the summons issued under Section 50 of the Act of 2002 would not be enough to render him/her liable to be arrested under Section 19.”The Supreme Court stressed that every action of ED is expected to be transparent, above board and conforming to pristine standards of fair play in action and that the agency is not expected to be vindictive in its conduct.The bench stressed that every action of ED is expected to be transparent, above board and conforming to pristine standards of fair play in action and that the agency is not expected to be vindictive in its conduct.”The ED, endowed with far-reaching powers under the stringent Act of 2002, must be seen as acting with the utmost probity, dispassion, and fairness. In the case at hand, the facts demonstrate that the ED failed to discharge its functions and exercise its powers within these parameters,” the top court said.The Supreme Court directive came as it granted bail to the directors of realty group M3M, Basant Bansal and Pankaj Bansal, in a money laundering case.The bench expressed concern over the ED’s conduct in pursuing the case, particularly recording a second ECIR immediately after the appellants secured interim protection related to the first ECIR, describing it as an arbitrary exercise of power.The bench cited Article 22(1) of the Constitution, which guarantees the right of an arrested person to be informed of the grounds for arrest without delay. It asserted, “This fundamental right must be meaningfully exercised to serve its intended purpose.” “The ED, as a premier investigating agency, tasked with combating debilitating economic offenses like money laundering in our country, must conduct every action with transparency, fairness, and adherence to the highest standards of fair play,” it noted.
