Supreme Court Dismisses Appeals Of TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee & Wife Against ED Summons In Coal Scam Case

The Supreme Court on Monday (September 9) dismissed the appeals filed by TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee and his wife-Rujira Banerjee challenging the Enforcement Directorate's summons in relation to a coal scam case. The duo, which claimed Calcutta to be its ordinary place of residence, challenged the ED summons insofar as they required attendance at New Delhi.

The ED Summons was in relation to alleged theft of Coal and illegal excavation being done in the leasehold area of Eastern Coalfields Ltd.

A bench comprising Justices Bela Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma pronounced the verdict.  The bench had reserved the judgment on August 13.

The petitioners argued that the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 should apply as regards the summons, since the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 does not specifically provide any procedure in that regard. Hence, as per the summons, they can be asked to appear only in Kolkata(where the offence is alleged to have taken place) and not in New Delhi.

The ED argued that Section 50 PMLA is not pari materia to Section 160 CrPC and the provisions of PMLA are to prevail.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal led arguments for Abhishek Banerjee, and Rujira Banerjee was represented by Senior Advocates Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Gopal Sankaranarayanan. Insofar as ED is concerned, submissions were made by Additional Solicitor General SV Raju and Advocate Zoheb Hossain.

Detailed report on the judgment - PMLA Prevails Over CrPC Regarding Procedure For Summoning Persons : Supreme Court

Case Title: ABHISHEK BANERJEE AND ANR. Versus DIRECTORATE OF ENFORCEMENT, Crl.A. No. 2221-2222/2023 (and connected case)

Click Here To Read/Download Judgment