MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court commended the state for issuing SOPs aimed at strengthening the Economic Offences Wing by streamlining its functions and by promoting transparent and time-bound action in financial fraud cases.
Pointing to the G.O. passed to include ‘economic offenders’ under Tamil Nadu Act 14 of 1982 (Goondas Act), Justice B Pugalendhi called it a major policy shift that empowers the authorities to invoke preventive detention against habitual offenders operating fraudulent financial firms. Recalling that the court had earlier expressed concern over lack of preventive vigilance by the EOW, the judge acknowledged the state’s submission regarding the steps being taken.
However, noting that no outer time limit has been fixed for issuance of ad-interim attachment orders under Section 3 of the TNPID Act, the judge fixed 12 days from the receipt of proposal by the ADGP, EOW, as the maximum permissible period for issuing such directions.
The observations were made on a contempt plea against the home secretary for non-implementation of the court’s order in his petition seeking release of deposit from a frozen bank account of a firm involved in fraud.