Supreme Court Criticizes ED: Misuse of Money Laundering Act Unveiled

The Supreme Court criticized the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for potentially misusing the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. It questioned the incarceration of Arun Pati Tripathi after a local court quashed the case against him. The court compared the situation to the misuse of the dowry law 498A.

The Supreme Court has rebuked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for possibly misusing the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), highlighting concerns similar to those raised about dowry law misuse. This observation was made while granting bail to Arun Pati Tripathi, a former excise officer from Chhattisgarh.

Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan questioned the logic of keeping Tripathi in custody even after the Chhattisgarh High Court quashed the court order cognising the complaint against him. ''If a person remains in jail under quashed cognisance, it mirrors the misuse seen in Section 498A cases,'' the bench noted.

The ED, represented by Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, opposed the bail on the grounds that quashed cognisance was irrelevant for bail. The Supreme Court, however, expressed concern about the ED's suppression of this quashed cognisance, questioning the agency's integrity in the matter.