Amidst legal deliberations, the Apex Court, on Thursday, discarded the petition lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), contesting the parameters delineated by the Calcutta High Court concerning the disclosure of details regarding the investigative actions and search endeavors orchestrated by the probe agency in relation to the alleged fraudulent activities in West Bengal.
Right from the outset, a Bench presided over by Justice Hrishikesh Roy conveyed to Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, the representative of the ED, that no provisional directive impeding the High Court’s stipulations would be issued. “Mr. Raju, should you opt to retract the plea, do so; otherwise, we shall dismiss it,” the Bench, inclusive of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, asserted.
Discerning the Apex Court’s reluctance to entertain the petition, ASG Raju opted for withdrawal. “Consequently, without delving into the merits of the impugned order, the SLP stands dismissed as not pressed,” decreed the Apex Court. Prior to the Calcutta High Court, Rujira Narula Banerjee, spouse of Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, contended that ED officials divulged information pertaining to the inquiry to tarnish her reputation and besmirch her family.
In its pronouncement, a panel led by Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharya of the Calcutta High Court pronounced: “Investigative agencies in general, and the ED in particular, ought not to be accompanied by members of the media during their raids, interrogations, or search and seizure procedures. Such actions by the investigating agency compromise the fairness of the trial and the privacy of the implicated individual, instigating presumptions of guilt or involvement before proper adjudication in a court of law.” The High Court further enjoined the media from publishing photographs of the accused until the final charge sheet is submitted in the matter.