KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Friday asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to inform the court whether it intended to withdraw the portion of the summons issued to T M Thomas Isaac that sought information on the bank account details of the former finance minister’s family members in connection with its investigation into the Masala Bonds case.
The ED should also explain whether it had verifiable reasons to continue with the probe, Justice Devan Ramachandran said. The agency is probing the alleged violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act in raising money through the bonds floated by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).
The court made the observations while hearing the petition filed by Isaac and the KIIFB CEO challenging the issue of summons to them. The court orally observed that the ED had the power to conduct a proper probe, but it could not conduct a roving inquiry (asking questions not connected with the matter).
It said the agency had other methods of collecting documents in the case and it was possible to find out the end use of the money collected by way of Masala Bonds from the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General). The HC said the agency could collect information without summoning Isaac when KIIFB officials had appeared before the ED on seven occasions.
The court added that the KIIFB counsel’s argument that the pending case would put the board through prejudice and affect its credibility may be right as it was the major funding agency for infrastructure projects in Kerala.
The ED counsel submitted that the said portion could be withdrawn as it was personal information. If the petitioners respond to the summons and show everything was in order, ED will close the complaint as frivolous, the counsel said.