ED questions assembly panel’s legal competence
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has denied the charge that its ongoing investigation into various projects undertaken by LIFE Mission amounted to an interference in the constitutional rights or privileges of the state legislature. The central agency was responding to a notice issued to it recently by the assembly’s Committee of Privileges and Ethics.
The assembly panel had asked the ED to explain why the House should not deem its decision to summon the records of the LIFE project as a breach of legislative prerogative. In his response, P Radhakrishnan, Assistant Director of Enforcement and Investigating Officer in the case, urged the Legislature Secretary to drop any further action on the matter.
The official said the assembly panel’s action was “without legal competence” and was based on “misinformation of facts”. The officer said since the ED found it necessary to have an expeditious investigation, a notice was issued for immediate production of documents related to the LIFE Mission projects. The summons to LIFE Mission CEO U V Jose was issued in good faith after invoking the powers under Section 50 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, he said.
Clarifying that the notice was not meant to cause any personal inconvenience to the LIFE Mission CEO. The officer said Jose had not expressed any inconvenience nor requested any postponement of his appearance before the agency.
ED: Larger network in LIFE Mission operation
“It is to be expected that the authorities of the (state) government as well and LIFE Mission would appreciate the significance of the requirements not only to maintain transparency but also to keep the statutory investigating authorities properly informed about the probity and legality of the transactions which come under the probe,” Radhakrishnan pointed out.
The ED officer said during the probe, it was revealed that there was a larger network in operation, hand in glove with state executive authorities, for siphoning out money running to crores of rupees out of public contracts given under state governmental agencies.
This, the ED said, was done as a commission for fixing up contracts. The central agency said it wanted to further probe the details of such illegal instances of undue enrichment which form an integral part of the chain of offending transactions. It was in this context that the information was sought from the LIFE Mission CEO.
‘Misinformation of facts’
The panel had asked ED to expl-ain why the House should not deem its decision to summon the records of the LIFE project as a breach of legislative prerogative ED said the assembly panel’s action was based on “misinformation of facts”