National Herald case: ED's 2015 circular puts FIR under spotlight

New Delhi: As the Enforcement Directorate's appeal against a Special Judge's order declining to take cognisance of its money laundering complaint in the National Herald matter reached the Delhi HC last week, focus has returned on 2015 ED circular which makes it "essential" for an FIR in a scheduled offence to be registered and sent to a magistrate for taking cognisance before any ED complaint can be filed.

The circular dated January 14, 2015, as it turns out, was issued to clarify the point whether an ECIR (Enforcement Case Information Report) can be registered if an FIR in scheduled offence has not been made but a magistrate has taken cognisance of the case.

Following detailed examination, the ED circular said Section 17 of PMLA had "unequivocally stipulated the requirement" that an FIR had been forwarded to a Magistrate for taking cognisance of an ED case. "Thus, for registering an ECIR, the requirement of First Information Report under Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and its forwarding to a magistrate under Section 157 of Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 (2 of 1974) is essential." The non-registration of an FIR was the technical ground on which Rouse Avenue Special Judge for Prevention of Corruption Act bench Vishal Gogne had refused to take cognisance of the National Herald case.