Journalism of Courage
Premium

SC asks Tamil Nadu DMs to appear before ED in probe related to illegal sand mining

ED had summoned the district collectors of Vellore, Tiruchirappalli, Karur, Thanjavur and Ariyalur in connection with its probe in the money laundering case related to alleged illegal sand mining.

Supreme Court ED Tamil Nadu illegal sand miningA bench of justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal termed the plea of Tamil Nadu and its officials against the ED summons as "strange and unusual" and stayed the Madras High Court order granting the relief to the five district collectors. (File)
Advertisement

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed five district collectors of Tamil Nadu to appear before the Enforcement Directorate in connection with an ongoing money laundering probe pertaining to alleged illegal sand mining.

A bench of justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal termed the plea of Tamil Nadu and its officials against the ED summons as “strange and unusual” and stayed the Madras High Court order granting the relief to the five district collectors.

“The writ petition (of Tamil Nadu and others in the high court) is thoroughly misconceived. Accordingly, the execution of the impugned order (of the high court) is stayed and thus the district collectors shall appear before the Enforcement Directorate on the next date,” the bench said in its order.

Earlier, the bench said the state machinery should help the ED in finding out if an offence has been committed as there is no harm in it.

The central probe agency had summoned the district collectors of Vellore, Tiruchirappalli, Karur, Thanjavur and Ariyalur in connection with its probe in the money laundering case related to alleged illegal sand mining. The officers were summoned as witnesses, the ED had said.

The state government along with the bureaucrats had moved the high court that stayed the summons issued by the ED. The probe agency has moved the top court against the high court order.

The ED’s plea came up for hearing before the top court.

From the homepage

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Tags:
  • illegal sand mining supreme court Tamil Nadu
Edition
Install the Express App for
a better experience
Featured
Trending Topics
News
Multimedia
Follow Us
Muttaqi in IndiaWhy New Delhi is increasing engagement with Afghanistan's Taliban
X