Delhi Court Criticizes ED for Attempting to Invoke PMLA Against Ordinary Citizens
The court was looking at a request from Amit Katyal, who is involved in a case about an alleged scam where land was traded for jobs. He wanted to extend his temporary release from jail.
A Delhi court told off the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning private doctors under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The judge, Vishal Gogne, said that the ED can’t act too strongly against citizens who aren’t even suspects.
The court heard Katyal’s request for extending his temporary release. The ED called the doctors Katyal was seeing to oppose the request, using a law called section 50 of PMLA to record their statements.
The judge scolded the ED, saying section 50 can only be used for getting evidence or dealing with money laundering, not for other purposes.
The judge also criticized the ED for sharing Katyal’s medical records with government hospitals without his permission. The ED also didn’t get permission from the court before examining doctors at private hospitals.
The court said that the ED’s actions were inappropriate and went beyond what was needed. It also warned that strong laws and agencies can sometimes harm citizens, as seen in this case.
Katyal’s request for extending his temporary release was denied by the court, as he is now in good health. He was told to surrender to jail authorities the next day.
The ED’s case comes from a previous investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into claims that people got jobs in the Indian Railways when Lalu Prasad Yadav was the railway minister.
Katyal, who is said to be close to Lalu Yadav and his son Tejaswi Yadav, was granted temporary release earlier for health reasons. He was arrested by the ED on November 11, 2023, and is accused of being involved in a money laundering scheme with Lalu Yadav.
It’s claimed that he ran companies to buy properties at low prices for other accused people, like Lalu Yadav and his family, in exchange for giving jobs in the Indian Railways when Lalu Yadav was the Railway Minister. Later, these companies were given to Yadav family members at lower prices.
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