By Dr. Gyan Pathak
Enforcement Directorate’s (ED’s) neutrality as a central investigating agency under the Union Government led by PM Narendra Modi has plummeted to its lowest since its inception in 1956, when a bench of the Supreme Court of India has to ask it on August 7, 2025 not to behave like a crook. It is a significant development in the backdrop of the general allegation of the opposition political parties that Modi government has been misusing the ED as a tool to settle scores.
The Supreme Court comprising Justice Surya Kant, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, and Justice N K Singh while hearing the review petitions against the 2022 judgement in the Vijay Madanlal Choudhary case said that the ED cannot act like a “crook” and has to act “within the four corners of law”. The Bench also pointed out the low conviction rates in cases under the Prevention of Money Loundering Act (PMLA). The bench also pointed out that conviction rate in PMLA cases were below 10 per cent. The bench was not only concerned about the liberty of the people but also about the image of the ED.
What happened transpired between the government and the bench should be eye opener to the people of India, since it provides the draconian character of the PMLA, under which a citizen can’t even think of a fair trial or legal proceeding. Injustice is just built in, because the accused are not even entitled to copy of documents and they are being kept long years in jail without even trial.
For example, during the hearing Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju said that there was no obligation to supply a copy of the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) to the accused. It should be noted that ECIR is just like First Information Report (FIR) but is an internal document of the ED and not mandated to be shared with the accused.
After the comment of the Bench that ED must not act as a crook, the ASG said that investigators are handicapped because the main accused flee to locations like Cayman’s Islands and the investigation hits a road block. “Crooks have a lot of wherewithal, whereas the poor Investigating Officer does’t,” ASG said.
ASG’s comment was just revealing about an alarming fact that how ED is incapable of the investigating the cases. No wonder there is lower the 10 per cent conviction in PMLA cases. It is apart from the alleged wilful omission and commission of the ED officials, which attracted the harsh comment from the bench such as must not act as crooks.
Nevertheless, Justice Bhuyan said, “You can’t act like a crook, you have to act within four corners of law. I observed in one court proceedings, you have registered about 5000 ECIRs. Conviction is less than 10 per cent … That’s why we insist – improve your investigation, witness … we are talking about the liberty of people. We are concerned about ED’s image also. At the end of 5-6 years of judicial custody, if people are acquitted, who will pay for this.”
This comment just sums up the very low level of functioning of the ED. ASG, however, blamed influential accused for the delay who employed a battery of lawyers who file applications after applications at different stages to protract the proceedings. He admitted that investigators are also “terribly handicapped.”
ASG’s submission not only reveals the Union Government has actually not been serious about resolving the cases in time by strengthening the ED itself, and is more interests in get the cases filed against the people and just put the accused in jail for an unspecified time without trial. It is a shame that the Union Government’s important wing for investigating PMLA cases is “terribly handicapped” as submitted by the ASG, while PM Narendra Modi has been presenting himself as championing against corruption in India.
The apex court made the observation while hearing petitions seeking a review of the its July 2022 ruling which upheld ED’s powers of arrest, search, and seizure under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Such a harsh comment against the ED is not an isolated one. Several Supreme Court and High court benches have been harshly commenting on the very bad performance of ED, and raising questions against their functioning putting their neutrality under question.
Even yesterday, another bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, also questioned the conviction rate in ED cases. Justice Gavai observed that even if convictions were not secured ultimately, the ED has been “successful” in “sentencing” persons by keeping them in jail without trial for years.
Even in May 2025, a Supreme Court bench led by CJI BR Gavai had said in the TASMAC (Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation) liquor scam case, “The ED is crossing all limits … you are totally violating the federal structure of the country.”
In July 2025, the Supreme Court has asked, “Why ED wants to be used for political battles?” Observations against ED had come in two separate cases – first involving summons against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramiah’s wife BM Parvathi and Minister Byrathi Suresh in connection with alleged illegal allotment of site by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), the other over ED notices to some senior advocates of the Supreme Court for appearing before the agency in connection with cases allegedly involving their clients. (IPA Service)
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