The Madras High Court on November 28 stayed the summons issued by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on November 17 to the Collectors of Ariyalur, Karur, Thanjavur, Tiruchi and Vellore for producing details regarding all sand quarry sites in their districts.
Justices S.S. Sundar and Sunder Mohan, prima facie, agreed with the Tamil Nadu government’s contention that the ED, acting under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) of 2002, could not engage in a fishing expedition to identify possible proceeds of crime.
The judges said, existence of a predicate offence as well as the proceeds of crime were quintessential for initiating proceedings under the PMLA whereas in the present case, the ED had sought details from the Collectors to find out whether any offence had been committed at all.