NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Friday listed for hearing on April 4 petition by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against the issuance of notice to its officers by West Bengal Police pursuant to an FIR lodged by TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee and asked the state police to restrain itself from taking any action in the meantime.
Justice Jasmeet Singh directed that the petition by the central agency challenging the notice dated March 17 be listed before the judge hearing another plea concerning the earlier summons issued by the West Bengal Police in the case.
"We will hear it on Monday (*April 4). Till Monday, you will restrain yourself," the court said. Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, appearing for the West Bengal government, said that no action will be taken in the meantime.
Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for ED, urged the court to protect its officers as till the case is taken up on April 4.
In the petition, the central agency, which was also represented by lawyers Amit Mahajan and Nitesh Rana, stated that to "pressurize" its officer investigating the case related to the illegal coal mining in West Bengal, Abhishek Banerjee lodged the present FIR and in furtherance of the same, notices have been issued to them.
"The said FIR has been registered with a malafide intention to derail and delay the investigation under PMLA being conducted by the Directorate of Enforcement", said the petition.
"The Respondents (State of West Bengal) despite passing of the interim order in order to overreach orders of this Hon'ble Court has issued impugned notice dated March 17, 2022, in apparent attempt to harass, browbeat and stop the officers of Petitioner No. 1 (ED) from discharging their statutory functions," it added.
In December last year, the court had stayed two notices issued to ED officers by the West Bengal Police in the case.
In April 2021, on a complaint by the TMC MP, an FIR was lodged by police in West Bengal under the Indian Penal Code for alleged commission of offences of forgery of records, forgery for the purpose of harming reputation, and defamation.
In its earlier petition before the court, the ED had said that in order to pressurise its officers probing the money laundering case against him, Banerjee, who is the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee and "enjoys clout" in the state government, lodged the instant FIR.
The ED had alleged that the two notices issued on July 22, 2021, and August 21, 2021, were patently illegal, mala fide, and a "counterblast" to the investigation in the coal pilferage case.
It had also claimed that the motive behind the registration of the FIR and the subsequent issuance of notices is "only to harass the officers of the Directorate and to use the State Police Machinery to halt the investigation being conducted by the officers of the Directorate against highly placed persons in the State Government of West Bengal and their suspected role in the offence of money laundering".