Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee and his wife Rijura have received a major setback from the Delhi High Court. The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed the plea of Abhishek Banerjee and Rijura seeking quashing of summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate in the West Bengal coal scam case.
Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar also dismissed the plea of Banerjee’s wife challenging the complaint filed by the ED against her and the trial court’s order taking cognizance of it. The petition also challenged the issue of summons against the petitioner for physical appearance.
The court, in its judgment, observed that Section 48 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) does not restrict the investigating agency regionally in matters of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The Court observed that the CrPC clearly points to the territorial limits imposed on police officers with reference to the exercise of their jurisdiction and such jurisdiction appears to be limited to their respective local areas (barring certain situations) which are within their respective jurisdictions. Come under police stations.
The Court further observed that it is clear that the legislature has created a separate mechanism to deal with a particular type of offense and despite being aware of the territorial limits in the CrPC, the legislature has opted not to include those limits in the PMLA. . In fact, the CBI had registered an FIR in connection with the alleged offenses of illegal mining and theft of coal from the leasehold areas of Eastern Coalfields Limited in West Bengal committed by some persons.
Under this, the ED had registered an ECIR in the Head Investigative Unit located in New Delhi. After which both the residents of Kolkata were directed to appear before the ED for questioning in Delhi. After which he had moved the Delhi High Court challenging the ED’s summons and said that it can be investigated only by the local office concerned in Kolkata. The petition said that both Banerjee and his wife are neither named in the CBI FIR nor in the ED complaint.