Madras High Court further stated that the offence of money laundering is a crime against nation and few inconveniences cannot be ground to strike down the raids.
Published Apr 23, 2025 | 11:32 AM ⚊ Updated Apr 23, 2025 | 11:32 AM
Madras High Court. (Wikimedia)
Synopsis: The Madras High Court dismissed pleas by the Tamil Nadu government and TASMAC challenging ED raids at TASMAC HQ, citing the gravity of money laundering. The ED, probing a ₹1,000 crore scam, alleged bribery, overpricing, and irregularities. The court upheld the ED’s authority under PMLA, despite arguments over timing, conduct, and political motives. Investigation will continue.
The Madras High Court on Wednesday, 23 April, dismissed the pleas filed by the Tamil Nadu government and TASMAC challenging the ED’s search at the TASMAC headquarters.
The case was heard by Justices SM Subramaniam and K Rajasekar, based on the petition filed by the Managing Director of TASMAC, seeking to declare the ED’s search conducted from the 6-8 March as illegal.
Rejecting the claims that ED raids were politically motivated, the bench according to Bar and Bench said, “Court cannot go into whether ED search is politically motivated. Are courts the place to decide this? Court can only examine materials before it.”
It further stated that the offence of money laundering is a crime against nation and few inconveniences cannot be ground to strike down the raids.
“The offence of money laundering is a crime against people of nation… employees sent home at odd hours highly disproportionate… search conducted in benefit of nation… a few inconveniences, when equated against (economic justice)… legislations such as PMLA serve this purpose (economic justice) ….” the judgment said.
The court also noted, that ED can continue their investigation.
Senior Advocate Vikram Chaudhri appeared on behalf of TASMAC, while Advocate General PS Raman appeared on behalf of the Tamil Nadu government. The ED’s arguments were led by Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju.
They argued that the ED has never been transparent and instead hides behind a created image of transparency. They questioned on what basis the ED believes a crime was committed and demanded that the ED must disclose the reasons for the search.
It was further stated that the ED’s actions have directly tarnished the reputation of TASMAC and indirectly affected the image of the government.
The government side also questioned why, despite the alleged irregularities being cited from 2007 to 2021, the ED has initiated an investigation only now, as though it has suddenly become aware of them. They warned that today it is TASMAC being targeted; tomorrow it could be any department.
They also raised concern about the behaviour of ED officials, questioning whether detaining women officers and sending them home at midnight under the guise of an investigation was appropriate conduct.
Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, argued that the ED initiated the case based on complaints filed by the state police and the Anti-Corruption Bureau. He stated that the ED has the authority to investigate if there is a belief that a crime has occurred.
Following the conclusion of final arguments, senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for TASMAC on Wednesday, argued that the ED has no jurisdiction to conduct such searches and questioned how the ED could allege such large-scale corruption without solid proof.
The ED earlier said it has unearthed an alleged ₹1,000 crore corruption scam involving the state-run liquor retailer the TASMAC following raids across multiple districts in the state on 6 March.
The raids were conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, and resulted in the seizure of incriminating documents linked to bribery, tender manipulation, and illicit financial transactions, the agency said.
The ED stated that according to the First Information Report (FIR), TASMAC employees had accepted bribes and some were involved in illegal money transactions. The raids were conducted based on this information.
The ED alleged that large-scale financial and administrative irregularities were found within TASMAC operations, including:
(Edited by Sumavarsha, with inputs from Subhash Chandra Bose)
