Read Time: 04 minutes
It was earlier argued that the new FIR was a ploy by ED to create a scheduled offence so as to overcome its handicap in the liquor scam case.
The Supreme Court on Monday restrained Enforcement Directorate and Uttar Pradesh government from taking any actions in a fresh case registered by the agency against Anil Tuteja, an IAS officer, and his son Yash Tuteja, in an alleged liquor scam in Chhattisgarh.
"ED cannot be a law unto itself", observed a bench of Justices SK Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia, while doing so.
Court has further directed that Tuteja, and his son, would not be arrested or subjected to any other coercive step in view of its July 18 order that stopped ED from investigating further or taking any coercive measures in connection with the alleged liquor syndicate racket in Chhattisgarh.
The FIR filed by Uttar Pradesh police mentioned about Prizm Holography Security Films Ltd, which was allegedly favoured by Chhattisgarh officials as part of a criminal conspiracy to produce fake holograms to be used to pass off illegal country made liquor bottles as authenticated products through the liquor vends. The main accused named in the UP FIR included Special Secretary Excise Arunpati Tripathi, Excise Commissioner Niranjan Das and IAS officer Anil Tuteja.
On July 18, top court had stayed the ED investigation into the liquor scam at Chhattisgarh. As a result, the bench had granted interim protection to accused Yash Tuteja and others.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for Chhattisgarh had stated that the ED was harassing state officers and it was “shocking” to see how the agency was proceeding. It is the case of the state government that the agency officers were trying to implicate the Chief Minister Bhupesh Bhagel.
Court had notably said to the ED in May, to not create an atmosphere of fear, stating that bonafide cases go haywire when the agencies behave like this.
In April, the government had approached the Supreme Court stating that the central agencies were being misused by those in power, in order to intimidate, harass and disturb the normal functioning of an opposition government in the state.
Case Title: Yash Tuteja and Anr vs. Union of India and Ors.
Please Login or Register
