HC restrains ED from taking coercive steps against TDP MP, asks him to appear before it

 New Delhi: The Delhi High Court asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Friday not to take any coercive steps against TDP MP Y S Chowdary pursuant to the summons issued to him to appear before it in connection with a money laundering case.

Granting the interim protection to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader, Justice Najmi Waziri asked him to appear before the ED on December 3 and listed his plea challenging the November 27 summons to December 18 for further hearing. The court also sought the response of the Ministry of Finance and the ED on Chowdary's plea seeking quashing of the summons issued to him on the ground that it was "bad in law" as he was not named in the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), the FIR or the chargesheet. 

Centre's standing counsel Anil Soni opposed Chowdary's plea The TDP leader has also claimed in his petition that he was not connected with the offences mentioned in the ECIR in question, which was registered on the basis of a cheating and forgery case lodged in February 2016 against a Chennai-based company -- Best and Crompton Engineering Projects Ltd -- and its directors. The FIR against the company and its directors was lodged on the basis of a complaint received from the Central Bank of India. 

According to the petition, even though the TDP MP was not named as an accused in the chargesheet, FIR or ECIR, the ED had searched the premises of the Sujana Group, headed by him, on October 8 without a warrant. Thereafter, on November 24, the central probe agency had raided his official residence and offices in New Delhi and Telangana and his statement was also recorded and on November 27, the summons was issued to him, the plea said. 

It also said Chowdary had replied to the summons and sought an adjournment of two weeks, after which, on the same day (November 27), the ED had issued fresh summons, asking him to appear before it on December 4. Chowdary has claimed in his plea that the ED, "with ill will and malice conducted illegal raids and searches on the premises of his employees" after the TDP "withdrew its support and alliance from the ruling party" at the Centre.