SC reprimands five Tamil Nadu district collectors for not appearing before ED despite summons
The bench said that the officials displayed a “cavalier approach” and that their actions showed they had no respect for the law.
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The Supreme Court on Tuesday reprimanded five district collectors from Tamil Nadu for not appearing before the Enforcement Directorate despite the agency having summoned them in an alleged money-laundering case, PTI reported.
The court said that the officials displayed a “cavalier approach” and that their actions showed they had no respect for the law.
The summons were issued to the district collectors of Vellore, Tiruchirappalli, Karur, Thanjavur and Ariyalur. A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal on Tuesday directed them to appear before the Enforcement Directorate on April 25.
The Enforcement Directorate is investigating allegations of irregularities and malpractices in the mining and sale of river sand in Tamil Nadu. The Madras High Court had stayed the summons to the district collectors on November 28, after which the agency approached the top court.
On February 27, the Supreme Court stayed the High Court order and asked the collectors to appear before the Enforcement Directorate.
On Tuesday, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the Tamil Nadu government, said the district collectors had been unable to appear before the Enforcement Directorate on account of the Lok Sabha elections, polling for which will be held in Tamil Nadu on April 19.
The state government also said that a review application has been filed against the...
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