SC to Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, son: Move HC to challenge ED chargesheet
NEW DELHI: Disappointing former Chhattisgarh CM
Bhupesh Baghel
and his son,
Supreme Court
on Monday asked them to move high court to challenge
Enforcement Directorate
's allegedly illegal practice of filing incomplete chargesheets in money laundering cases to keep the probe open-ended, and keep them apprehensive about their possible arrest at any time.
Baghel said since 2019, there had been six ECIRs filed by ED under PMLA relating to Nagrik Apurti Nigam (PDS), income tax, District Mineral Fund, coal levy, Mahadev betting and Chhattisgarh liquor cases. In all these cases, there was a constant threat of his arrest, he said.
Appearing for him and his son, senior advocates A M Singhvi and Mukul Rohatgi told a bench of justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi that filing of multiple incomplete chargesheets, on the specious ground that the probe was ongoing, was illegal since it was mandatory for ED to take permission of the magistrate to carry out further investigation.
The bench said, "This abnormality of rushing directly to Supreme Court is becoming chronic, especially when cases involve affluent and influential people. If you are seeking quashing of the FIRs or chargesheets on grounds of irregularity on part of the agency, then you must move the HC." Singhvi and Rohatgi withdrew their petitions.
In another petition by Baghel, senior advocate Kapil Sibal told the bench that the former CM was challenging the constitutional validity of PMLA sections 50 and 63. "The framework u/s 50(2) and 50(3) of PMLA infringes upon the fundamental rights against self incrimination guaranteed under Article 20(3)... The aforesaid provisions permit ED to summon any person and compel answers and production of documents under a threat of penalty u/s 63 of the Act and arrest under Section 19 of the Act," Sibal said.
Appearing for ED, additional solicitor general S V Raju said these petitions were not maintainable as the former CM had not been named in any of the ECIRs.
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