New Delhi: The Supreme Court criticised the Enforcement Directorate (ED), urging it to consider the fundamental rights of citizens while rejecting its plea to transfer the Nagrik Apurti Nigam (NAN) scam case from Chhattisgarh to New Delhi.
A bench comprising Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan questioned the agency's decision to file a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution, which is intended for individuals seeking remedies for violations of their fundamental rights.
Article 32 guarantees the "Right to Constitutional Remedies", enabling individuals to directly approach the Supreme Court for the enforcement of their rights.
Following the bench's remarks, additional solicitor general S V Raju sought its permission to withdraw the plea and said, "ED also has fundamental rights." "In a lighter vein, if ED has fundamental rights, it should think about the fundamental rights of people too," the bench said.
The court permitted Raju to withdraw the plea.
Last year, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleged that former IAS officer Anil Tuteja had misused the anticipatory bail granted to him in the Chhattisgarh case.
The agency recently made a striking claim that certain constitutional functionaries in Chhattisgarh were in contact with a high court judge to secure judicial reliefs for some accused in the money laundering case linked to the multi-crore NAN scam.
In addition to requesting the transfer of the PMLA case out of Chhattisgarh, the ED also sought the cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to several high-profile accused in the money laundering case.
In 2019, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, based on an FIR and chargesheet submitted by the Chhattisgarh police's economic offences wing and anti-corruption bureau in connection with the civil supply scam.
The scam in the public distribution system (PDS) came to light in February 2015, when the state's anti-corruption bureau raided several offices of NAN, the nodal agency responsible for the PDS system. During the raid, unaccounted cash amounting to ₹3.64 crore was seized. Additionally, rice and salt samples collected were found to be substandard and unfit for human consumption.
At the time, Anil Tuteja served as the chairperson of NAN, while Shukla held the position of managing director.
(inputs from PTI)