‘Indefensible in law’: Punjab & Haryana High Court quashes ED arrest of Congress MLA Surender Panwar in mining case

Panwar was arrested by the ED in July in connection with an illegal mining case. His counsel argued that the ED had adopted a “pick-and-choose” policy in arresting him despite there being multiple accused in the case. They contended that the ED’s focus on Panwar was politically motivated, given that Panwar was a sitting MLA and Assembly elections were forthcoming.

Panwar’s counsel said there was no justification for his arrest as he had fully cooperated with the ED, appearing for all summonses.

In response, the ED’s counsel argued that sufficient evidence, including documents and statements recorded under section 50 of the PMLA, established a reasonable nexus between Panwar and other co-accused involved in illegal mining activities.

The ED also defended the timing of the arrest, noting that Panwar was taken into custody on July 20 and the Assembly elections were notified on August 1. It further claimed the arrest was justified based on evidence of a syndicate generating fake e-rawana bills for illegal mining, resulting in significant revenue loss to the state.

The ED counsel also submitted that Panwar had received proceeds of crime worth nearly Rs 26 crore.

Justice Sindhu found that the ED’s case was primarily based on allegations of illegal mining undertaken using fabricated e-rawana bills. He noted that Panwar was not named in the first eight FIRs and had not been implicated in the ninth FIR.

The judge further stated that while illegal mining is an offence under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957, it is not classified as a scheduled offence under the PMLA, thus precluding prosecution on that basis.

The bench further said the ED should, “instead of meting out unnecessary harassment”, ensure fair treatment of suspects, in line with Article 21 of the Constitution as well as human rights standards laid down by the United Nations.

“Directorate of Enforcement shall take remedial measures and sensitize the officers to follow some reasonable time limit for investigation in one go against the suspect(s) in such cases. To be precise, it would be appreciated if some necessary mechanism is put in place for fair investigation of the accused as per basic human rights laid down by the United Nations Organization, instead of meting out unnecessary harassment, for such a longer duration at one stretch for a given day,” the bench said.

The court also quashed the arrests of co-accused Dilbag Singh and Kulwinder Singh.