The Supreme Court on Tuesday, February 27, ordered District Collectors in Tamil Nadu to appear and respond to the summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the illegal sand mining case. A bench, headed by Justice Bela M Trivedi held that, in its prima facie view, a person is obliged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to respect and respond to the summons issued by the ED.
Hearing a special leave petition filed by the anti-money laundering agency, the bench, also comprising Justice Pankaj Mithal, stayed the interim orders passed by the Madras High Court which had paused the operation of the summons issued to the District Collectors. It said that writ petition instituted by the state government in the Madras High Court challenging the ED summons was prima facie "misconceived and also under a misconception of law".
"You are bound to respond to the summons. Let them (District Collectors) appear," the bench told senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who represented the state government. The matter was listed for hearing after four weeks and in the meantime, the parties were ordered to complete the pleadings in the matter.