Abhishek Banerjee, wife Rujira Banerjee move Delhi High Court to quash ED summons

TMC leader and nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Abhishek Banerjee and his wife Rujira Banerjee have moved Delhi High Court seeking to quash summons issued to them by the Enforcement Department (ED), New Delhi in relation to the West Bengal coal smuggling scam (Abhishek Banerjee v. Directorate of Enforcement)..Banerjee contended that ED has issued summons despite the fact that neither he nor his wife have been named in the Regular complaint by CBI.It is Banerjee's primary contention that Section 65 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) makes Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) applicable to investigation in PMLA cases, for as long as it is not inconsistent with its provisions. Therefore, summons issued to a person not accused under section 50 of PMLA must be treated as summons under section 160 CrPC..The same provision should be applicable to jurisdiction of officers when summoning a person beyond their jurisdiction.In this case, the jurisdiction is beyond the territorial limits of New Delhi, it was contended..The powers of an officer to summon someone outside his jurisdiction also have to be understood in accordance with section 160 CrPC. In the instant case, its the territorial jurisdiction of the officer.Hence, the investigation against both petitioners must take place in Kolkata, West Bengal, where ED has a fully functional zonal office, the plea said.Apart from the above, it was submitted that the cause of action and all aspects of the illegal mining and theft of coal has arisen in Kolkata and the petitioners should, therefore, be examined in Kolkata.Pertinently, it was also submitted that Section 160 of CrPC mandates that a woman witness shall not be required to attend any place for the purpose of investigation, other than her residence..The petitioners, therefore, stated that they are apprehensive of the fairness of the investigation conducted by ED, as they are adopting a pick and choose attitude with respect to certain persons and granting undue protection to complicit individuals.It was further alleged that while both of them have been summoned by the ED,they have neither been supplied a copy of Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) nor been informed if they are being summoned as witnesses or accused persons..Besides, the ED has been selectively leaking information to media with an intention to tarnish his political image, it was contended.Banerjee and his wife, therefore, sought appropriate directions from the Court to quash summons issued to them by ED, New Delhi and also prayed that the agency should be directed not to summon them for examination in Delhi.