TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee coal pilferage FIR: Delhi HC stays notices issued to ED officers by Bengal police

NEW DELHI, (PTI): The Delhi High Court has stayed the two notices issued to the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) officers by the West Bengal Police pursuant to an FIR lodged by TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee.

The court said there was no merit in the preliminary objection raised by the police on the maintainability of the petition filed by the ED and its three officers.

”It is necessary to consider the question of interim relief. It is a settled proposition of law that the three conditions are required to be established for grant of any interim relief: a strong prima facie case, balance of convenience and irreparable injury to the petitioner. In view of the discussions hereinabove, I find that the present case is a fit case for grant of ad-interim relief.

”Therefore, in view of the same, the operation of the notices dated July 22, 2021 and August 21, 2021 passed qua the petitioners in FIR… dated April 5, 2021 registered by the respondents is stayed till further orders,” Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar said, in the order which was passed on December 7 and made available on Saturday.

The court said the West Bengal government and police may file their response to the petition within a period of four weeks and the petitioners may file a rejoinder affidavit within two weeks thereafter and listed the matter for further hearing on February 18, next year.

The ED has alleged that West Bengal Police is acting at the behest of Banerjee, who ”enjoys clout” in the state government, to derail the probe into an alleged coal pilferage scam.

It has sought a direction to quash the two notices issued against its officers pursuant to the FIR lodged by Banerjee in April.

In April, on a complaint by the TMC MP, an FIR was lodged by police in West Bengal under the Indian Penal Code for alleged commission of offences of forgery of records, forgery for the purpose of harming reputation and defamation.

Subsequently, notices were issued to certain ED officers, which the agency has claimed amounted to an abuse of process of law.

The court said it has perused the contents of the status report filed by the West Bengal Police but it would not be advisable to discuss the same in detail in the present order as it might prejudice the case of either of the parties. However, the status report fails to directly point towards the specific role of the three ED officers in the commission of the alleged offences in the FIR, it said.

On the point of jurisdiction of the Delhi High Court to adjudicate the matter, it said prima facie it is clear from the factual conspectus that the notices were served to persons in Delhi, who are residing in the national capital and the petitioners have raised a considerable case of mala fides on the basis of facts emanating from Delhi.

”The next issue is with regard to the maintainability of the petition filed by the Directorate of Enforcement. It has been argued that the petitioner no. 1 (ED) being the ‘State’ itself, cannot maintain a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution. It may however be noted that the petition has been filed and affirmed also by petitioners no. 2, 3 and 4 (ED officers) who are natural persons and also petitioners in the present case being the actual aggrieved persons.

”In view of the same, I find no merit in the preliminary objection as to the maintainability of the petition on this ground. The question of law whether the petitioner no. 1 can maintain writ petition under Article 226 can be decided at a later stage,” the judge said.

The counsel for West Bengal government had opposed the plea for grant of interim protection by the court on the ground that the investigation in the case was at a crucial stage and the repeated non-appearance of the officers before the state police indicated that they were ”avoiding the investigation”.

Banerjee, represented by his lawyer, had told the court that in spite of him being the complainant, he was not made a party to the petition by the ED.

Advocate Amit Mahajan, appearing for the ED, had argued that the complainant was not a ”necessary party” to the present proceedings and while there were no objections against the continuation of investigation in the case, its officers should not be harassed.

He had contended that the FIR was filed only to derail the ongoing investigation in the alleged coal scam case against the complainant and ”change its outcome”.

Mahajan had also argued that the West Bengal Police lacked the power to issue notices to persons outside its jurisdiction and informed that fresh notices were received in October as well.

In its petition before the court, the ED has said that in order to pressurise its officers probing the money laundering case against him, Banerjee, who is the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee and ”enjoys clout” in the state government, lodged the FIR.

The ED has alleged that the notices issued on July 22 and August 21 are patently illegal, mala fide and a ”counter blast” to the investigation in the coal pilferage case.

”In order to pressurise the petitioners/ IOs investigating the case related to illegal coal mining, Abhishek Banerjee lodged an FIR on April 5, 2021, against a news channel and in furtherance of the same, notices have been issued to the IOs investigating the case of illegal coal mining by the West Bengal Police. The said FIR has been registered with a malafide intention to derail the investigation under PMLA being conducted by the Directorate of Enforcement,” it has added.

It has alleged that the issuance of notices against ED officers is ”malafide and with the oblique motive and intent at stifling the fair and impartial investigation being undertaken by the Enforcement Directorate for unearthing large financial scams / frauds taking place in the State of West Bengal and the country”.

It has also claimed that the motive behind registration of the FIR and the subsequent issuance of notices is ”only to harass the officers of the Directorate and to use the State Police Machinery to halt the investigation being conducted by the officers of the Directorate against highly placed persons in the State Government of West Bengal and their suspected role in the offence of money laundering”. (PTI)