The Supreme Court has condemned the Midnight Arrest of an Ex-IAS Officer by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection to the chhattisgarh liquor scam and emphasised that the Ex-IAS was not a terrorist.
Former Chhattisgarh bureaucrat Anil Tuteja was permitted to withdraw his appeal contesting the validity of his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Chhattisgarh liquor scam by the bench of Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih.
The bench granted permission to Tuteja to prefer a bail plea instead.
The Court did, however, take issue with the ED’s actions in this case, including the way Tuteja was summoned and then arrested, even though it permitted withdrawal.
The court stated that “We need to document a really unsettling aspect of the case. On April 20, 2024, at approximately 4:30 p.m., the petitioner was seated at the Raipur ACB office. First, he received a summons to come to the emergency department at 12:00 p.m. While he was in the ACB office, he received another summons to appear before the ED at 5:30 p.m. He was then driven in a van to the emergency department’s office.”
The Court emphasized that he was arrested at 4:00 a.m. after being questioned by the ED all night.
“Learned counsel for petitioners seeks permission to withdraw and file petition for applying for bail. This deserves to be accepted. The disturbing feature of this case is that the petitioner was sitting at the CBI office in Raipur. He was summoned to appear at 12 pm. Another summon was served when he was at ACB officer and then he was asked to appear in ED office at 4:30 pm and interrogated all night and arrested at 5 am. The facts are glaring. ASG says remedial measures taken by ED and a press release issued so that such occurrences do not occur,” the Court noted.
Tuteja is one of the defendants in the Chhattisgarh liquor Policy fraud, which allegedly included illicit distillery commission collection and manipulation of booze distribution. In 2020, he was given anticipatory bail. In accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the Enforcement Directorate also began looking into associated money laundering charges. On August 20, 2024, the Chhattisgarh High Court rejected Tuteja’s request to have the arrest revoked.
Case no. – SLP(Crl) No. 12124/2024
Case Title – Anil Tuteja v. Union of India
