SC cautions ED against 'unnecessary harassment' of Tamil Nadu district collectors

The Supreme Court Monday told the Enforcement Directorate (ED) not to "unnecessarily harass" the district collectors in Tamil Nadu.

The ED had earlier summoned some of the district collectors for questioning in connection with a money laundering probe pertaining to allegations of illegal sand mining in the state.

A division bench of justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal cautioned the agency after the Tamil Nadu government alleged that the collectors were made to wait at the ED's office from 8 am till 6 pm. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Tamil Nadu government, made the charge. "You (ED) cannot do that. Do not keep them waiting, they have to tend to their districts," Justice Trivedi verbally remarked. Adding to this, Justice Mithal orally observed, "Do not harass them unnecessarily". In April, the court had disapproved of the "cavalier attitude" of Tamil Nadu district collectors in not appearing before the ED. In view of the Lok Sabha elections, the bench said the district collectors can appear before the ED after polling concludes in Tamil Nadu.


The development took place during the resumed hearing of an appeal by ED against the Madras High Court's decision to stay its summons to five district collectors in Tamil Nadu in connection with a probe into a sand mining case.

The apex court, at one of the previous hearings, had verbally observed that it was unusual for the Tamil Nadu government to approach the high court challenging the ED summons in the first place.