Naresh Goyal case: ED tells Bombay High Court ECIR survives even if scheduled offence closed; HC says argument contradicts SG's stand in SC

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) why the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) lodged in the money laundering case against Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal could not be quashed since the scheduled offence has already been set aside. .The query arose during the hearing of a petition filed by Goyal and his wife Anita Goyal in the money laundering case.Senior Advocates Ravi Kadam and Aabad Ponda, appearing on behalf of Goyals, submitted that the ECIR had been registered on the basis of a complaint filed with the Mumbai police in 2018. In March 2020, the police filed a closure report which concluded that it had not found any substance in the criminal complaint and the dispute seemed to be civil in nature. This was accepted by a Metropolitan Magistrate Court and despite protest by the ED, was upheld by the Supreme Court. .Advocates Hiten Venegaonkar and Shreeram Shirsat, appearing for ED, argued that the ECIR could not be quashed as it was an internal, private ‘piece of paper which could not be considered a statutory document.“ECIR can never be quashed. It is not a statutory documentary and a simple paper. If we want to initiate a civil case, then ECIR helps. You cannot equate ECIR with FIR. What happens to the other actions that I have taken basis the ECIR, like recording statement of witnesses, what happens to that?” the ED counsel argued..A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and PK Chavan was however, not impressed with the submission, and wondered what would survive if the scheduled offence which formed the basis for registering an ECIR had been closed. “ECIR is basis which you start investigation. You are making a big statement that ECIR cannot be quashed. If it is just a piece of paper, how do you initiate investigation on that? What happens when the scheduled offence goes? The very basis for ECIR goes, then what survives?” the judge asked..Ponda highlighted an order of the Supreme Court wherein Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had submitted that once the closure report had been accepted by the Court against the scheduled offence, the ECIR did not survive and could be quashed. Ponda added that even civil proceedings arising from the same did not survive, as per the order..After examining the apex court order, the High Court asked the ED lawyers to take instructions on whether the Court could quash an ECIR or not.Justice Dere also said in a lighter vein that the ED counsel in the High Court seemed to be making submissions contrary to the submissions made by SG before the apex court.“We will place this day after tomorrow. You are an officer of this court. How can your submissions be contrary to what the law officer of the highest court is saying? You have not challenged any order where ECIR has been quashed. So the Supreme Court order remains,” Justice Dere said..The ECIR against Goyals was registered on the basis of a first information report (FIR) lodged by the Mumbai police in February 2020 on a complaint filed by Akbar Travels. The FIR booked Naresh and Anita Goyal under offences of cheating, criminal conspiracy and forgery of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).The travel agent alleged that it had suffered a loss of over ₹46 crores after the airline company cancelled flight operations from October 2018.In January this year, the High Court ordered that no coercive action be taken till January 31, 2023. This was extended till February 23, 2023..Kadam and Ponda were briefed by Ameet Naik and Abhishek Kale, partners from Naik Naik & Co.