HC raps spl court over routine grant of custodial interrogation

Judicial officers should not act as an extended arm of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Punjab and Haryana High Court asserted while admonishing a special court for acting in a routine and perfunctory manner in a PMLA case.

Quashing the order granting custodial interrogation and subsequent judicial custody of an accused at the ED’s behest, Justice Mahabir Singh Sindhu said the judicial officer negated the rule of law.

“Judicial officers, who have been assigned the task of special court under the PMLA, are not supposed to act as an extended arm of the ED and pass the remand order against the suspect as a matter of course,” Justice Sindhu said.

The Bench was hearing a petition filed by Balwant Singh through counsel senior advocate Vikram Chaudhri with counsel Keshavam Chaudhri, Hargun Sandhu and Gorav Kathuria for setting aside orders dated October 10, allowing his custodial interrogation at the ED’s hands and remanding him in four-day custody.

Appearing on ED’s behalf, Additional Solicitor-General of India submitted that loan facility of Rs 46 crore was fraudulently availed by an organisation TCL, while showing bogus share capital and fictitious turnover. The amount was never used for the intended purposes, but diverted to the accounts of sister concerns and shell companies. The petitioner, he added, caused loss to the public exchequer “to the tune of Rs 41 crore”.

Justice Sindhu ruled that the custodial interrogation authorised by the special court and subsequent remand orders lacked coherence, reasoning, and adherence to the provisions of law. “It appears that the special court has accepted the ED prayer in a routine manner and authorised the custodial interrogation while negating the salutary protection emanating from Article 21 of the Constitution,” the Bench observed.