Bombay HC admits plea seeking more transparency in the functioning of ED, other Central investigative agencies

The Bench comprising Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice GS Kulkarni today issued notice in the PIL filed by Advocate Ghanshyam Upadhyaya (party-in-person) seeking measures to bring in more transparency in the functioning of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). .Plea in Bombay HC seeks transparency in Enforcement Directorate's functioning.The counsel appearing for the ED and the Income Tax Commissioner today argued before the High Court that the PIL is not maintainable. .He added that the petitioner's prayers seek modifications in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. He submitted that PMLA had laid down a clear procedure to be followed by the investigative agencies..He also informed the Court that Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh would appear for the Central Bureau of Investigation and other Central agencies..The Court has granted time to all the investigative agencies to file their reply and serve a copy to Ghanshyam Upadhyaya..The petitioner calls for measures to facilitate citizens' participation in cases against money laundering being conducted by Central agencies such as the ED. .It was pointed out that under the present scheme of things, no communication channel is available for common people to assist the agency with information especially "when nationalist/ patriotic citizens want to approach ED to provide valuable inputs.".Upadhyaya's plea further raises grievance that out of a few thousand “scheduled offences” that might have arisen in the year 2020 itself, nobody knows as to how the ED chooses its targets and what is the basis of picking up a particular case for investigation or otherwise..It has cited examples of the persons involved in HDIL/PMC Bank Scam and how the accused arrested by ED succeeded in obtaining bail only for the reason that the ED failed to file a charge-sheet in the stipulated time frame of 60 days..In this backdrop, the petitioner has made various prayers seeking to bring in more transparency in the ED's functioning. These prayers include:.Directions that all ED Case Information Reports (ECIRs) and orders refusing the registration of ECIR are displayed on the official website of the ED.When any investigating agency registers a “scheduled offence” (as defined under PMLA), such agency should be under an obligation under Section 39 of the CrPC, read with Section 176 of the IPC, to forward a copy of the FIR to the ED.Adjudication proceedings, as well as orders relating to attached properties, should be displayed on the official website of the ED.All investigating agencies including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) should display the FIR on their official website within 24 hours.