Kochi: There is no stay on the crime branch investigation against Enforcement Directorate. The High Court on Tuesday will reconsider the petition filed by the Enforcement Directorate seeking quashing of the case. The High Court also directed that no action should be taken against the ED officials till then.
Solicitor General Thushar Mehta appeared in court on behalf of ED. The Solicitor General argued in court that there was no department to file a case against ED. The court asked Enforcement why the information provided in the sealed envelope was reissued.
It is alleged that Swapna Suresh, the accused in the ED gold smuggling case, was pressured to give a false statement against the Chief Minister. The case has been registered under various sections including conspiracy. The action is based on legal advice.
The ED wrote a letter to the government on 20-11-2020 to inquire into the nature of the conversation which came out like a dream. Following this, the government ordered a crime branch inquiry. It was during this inquiry that some women officials testified against ED. He said that he had put pressure on Swapna to make a false statement against the Chief Minister and that he had heard the promise that Swapna would be pardoned if he made such a statement.
The Crime Branch investigation team had found that conspiring and pressuring someone to enter incorrectly was not part of the official procedure. The government then sought legal advice from the Director-General of Prosecutions on the case. The FIR was registered against the ED officials based on legal advice that a case could be registered against them for pressuring them to give false statements and for a conspiracy behind it.
A letter has been sent to the ED DGP requesting that there be a conspiracy behind the statement of the women officials and that action be taken against the women officials for giving false statements.
