ED’s Powers Under Scrutiny: High Court Questions Sealing Authority

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has stated before the Madras High Court that it does not possess the authority to seal premises if they were locked at the time of search, as stipulated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Additional Solicitor General S V Raju presented this argument during the hearing of petitions filed by film producer Akash Bhaskaran and businessman Vikram Ravindran, challenging the ED's search and sealing of their properties. The court, consisting of Justices M S Ramesh and V Lakshminarayanan, questioned the legitimacy of ED's sealing action.

The ED maintained that while it has the power to break locks under Section 17 of PMLA, it opted against escalating the situation. Raju further informed the court of instructions for the ED to withdraw any notices and return seized materials. The decision on interim applications was reserved by the bench, with a continuation of the hearing scheduled after four weeks.

(With inputs from agencies.)