The state government on Saturday filed a caveat in the Supreme Court in connection with the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) petition relating to the searches conducted at the I-PAC office and the residence of its director, Pratik Jain.
The ED has filed a case in the Calcutta High Court regarding the I-PAC matter and the hearing has been adjourned until 14 January.
The state government filed the caveat in the Supreme Court to ensure that the ED’s arguments are not heard unilaterally.
The caveat was filed to ensure that the arguments of both sides are heard before the court passes any ex parte order. It is worth noting that in many cases, the Supreme Court issues orders after hearing only one side of the argument.
In case of a caveat, the court is obligated to hear both sides.
On Thursday, the ED conducted searches at political consultancy firm I-PAC’s office and the residence of its director Pratik Jain in Kolkata in connection with the coal smuggling case. In 2020, the CBI had filed an FIR in connection with the coal smuggling case.
Based on that FIR, the ED initiated an investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The central investigative agency is probing a case involving financial transactions worth approximately Rs 2,742 crore.