Coal Case: SC dismisses TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee, wife pleas against ED summons

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed appeals filed by Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee and his wife Rujira Banerjee, challenging summons issued to them by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with its money laundering probe into a coal case.

The two, who claimed Kolkata to be their ordinary place of residence, challenged the summons because the agency required their attendance in New Delhi.

A bench of justices Bela Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma pronounced the order on Monday.


Banerjee and his wife had contended that the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, should apply as regards the summons, since the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, does not specifically provide any procedure in that regard. Hence, they can be asked to appear only in Kolkata, where the offence is alleged to have been committed, and not in New Delhi.

The counsel for the Enforcement Directorate had vehemently opposed their claims, arguing that the provisions of PMLA were not similar to those of CrPC and between the two, PMLA provisions would prevail.