'Can't act like a crook': Supreme Court's stern words for ED; bench says agency must work 'within four corners of the law'

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday sternly reminded the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that the central agency must function strictly within the bounds of the law, stating, "You can’t act like a crook."

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan, and N Kotiswar Singh made the observation while hearing petitions seeking a review of the top court's July 2022 ruling which upheld the ED’s powers of arrest, search, and seizure under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Appearing for the Centre and the ED, additional solicitor general (ASG) SV Raju argued that the review petitions were not maintainable, describing them as mere “disguised appeals” against the earlier verdict. He claimed that “influential crooks” exploit the legal process to delay investigations by filing multiple applications, forcing ED officers to focus on court appearances instead of conducting probes.

Justice Bhuyan pushed back, highlighting concerns about the agency’s low conviction rate .

"You can't act like a crook, you have to act within the four corners of the law. I observed in one of my judgments that the ED has registered around 5,000 ECIRs (enforcement case information report) in the past five years but the conviction rate is less than 10 per cent. We are also concerned about the ED’s image. After 5–6 years of custody, if people are acquitted, who takes responsibility?” he said.

Raju further argued that the ED is often "handicapped" when "influential accused" flee to jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands. He also pointed out that in 2019, a Supreme Court Constitution bench had already upheld the PMLA’s constitutional validity.

The bench will continue hearing the matter next week.

(With PTI inputs)