Case against ED officer in Tamil Nadu: SC bats for striking balance between competing aspects

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has highlighted the need to strike a balance between the competing aspects in cases where officers of the central agencies were probed by the state police.

The top court was hearing a plea by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking transfer of the probe in a case against its officer Ankit Tiwari, who was arrested by the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) for alleged bribery, to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Observing that an accused has a right to fair investigation, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan said in a federal structure, it has to be ensured that each component retains its identity and jurisdiction.

Referring to a hypothetical situation, the bench said if a state decides to arbitrarily arrest the Central government officials, "this may create a constitutional crisis".

The bench observed in such a scenario, if it was said that state would have the exclusive power to arrest, it could be dangerous to the federal structure.

However, the bench said denying the state police the power to probe a case within its jurisdiction would also not be desirable.

"We will consider the arguments from both sides to strike a balance between these competing aspects," the bench said.

It said though an accused cannot have a say in the probe, he has a right to fair investigation.

The counsel appearing for Tamil Nadu told the bench that Tiwari was caught red-handed accepting bribe and the probe into the case was almost complete.

He said the police has not filed the chargesheet yet as the apex court is seized of the ED's plea.

The bench has posted the matter for hearing in January.

On March 20, the top court had granted interim bail to Tiwari.

While hearing the ED's plea earlier, the apex court had mulled over formulating a fair and transparent pan-India mechanism for investigation of cases involving officials of the central probe agencies and state governments to eliminate apprehensions about political vendetta thwarting probes.

Tiwari, an officer posted in the sub-zonal office of the ED in Madurai, was claimed to have been arrested while receiving a bribe of Rs 20 lakh from a Tamil Nadu government official on December 1, 2023.

Following his arrest, the ED had filed a complaint with Tamil Nadu police chief accusing the state vigilance officers of trespassing on its zonal office in Madurai and stealing case records.

The DVAC, on the other hand, claimed "incriminating documents" were seized during the search.

While hearing the ED's plea for transfer of the case against Tiwari to the CBI, the apex court had sought a response from the Tamil Nadu government.

The ED had told the top court that it wanted a fair and proper investigation in the case.

The ED, in its plea, has also sought a direction to the Tamil Nadu government to appoint a nodal officer for sharing with it all FIRs registered in the state as regards scheduled offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).