ED Suffers Yet Another Setback In Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Central investigation agency, Enforcement Directorate(ED), which has been accused of acting as a political tool in the hands of the Union Government, has been at the receiving end in Kerala besides Bengal.

The ED suffered two setbacks in quick succession causing it accurate embarrassment. The first snub came when former Kerala finance minister Thomas Isaac refused to appear before the probe agency for interrogation in the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund (KIIFB) Masala Bond case. It is the second time that Isaac has refused to obey the ED’s summons.

Isaac has declined the summons on the ground that it is nothing but ‘pure harassment’. The Foreign Exchange Management Act(FEMA) case is linked to a probe into the alleged violations in the financial dealings of KIIFB during his tenure as the finance minister in the previous LDF Government. The former minister told reporters that he had asked the ED to withdraw the summons issued to him last week. He had also been asked earlier, on January 12, to appear before the ED and refused to turn up then too.

Isaac, however, offered to appear before the agency if it can point out any specific legal violation. But he said he would not appear before them so that they could question him and find out if any laws were violated. That amounted to self-incrimination and he would not do that, Isaac averred. Moreover, the KIIFB has already submitted all accounts and records to the ED, he added. That being the case, neither the chairman nor the vice-chairman(Isaac is the vice-chairman) need to give any accounts or explanation. That was the crux of Isaac’s argument.

In support of his argument, Isaac also pointed out that even the High Court had observed that there cannot be a “roving expedition.” The summons, he said, was pure harassment. To protect his dignity, he would go to the court if required, Isaac contended.

Isaac has been saying that the ED move is a thinly-disguised attempt at political vindictiveness in view of the proximity of the Lok Sabha elections. The ED move was not confined to Kerala alone, Isaac contended, adding that it was happening across India, especially in states ruled by non-BJP parties.

Meanwhile, the ED has refused to accept Isaac’s contention that he was not solely responsible for the decision taken by KIIFB to issue masala bonds. The agency claimed that Isaac favoured issuing of masala bonds even as the Chief Secretary voiced his misgivings. Isaac defended masala bonds saying that it would benefit for the KIIFB in future.

The second setback came when the Kerala High Court castigated it for the inordinate delay in conducting the probe into the so-called Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank scam. Observing that the agency cannot keep the investigation going on forever, the court directed it to file the case details. The ED must pull up its socks and do the needful fast. It cannot keep all the people under the Damocles Sword, the court observed.

In another significant development, which amounts to a snub to the ED, the Supreme court favoured the setting up of a mechanism to ensure that the central probe agency does not act vindictively. That the ED has been acting as a weapon in the hands of the Union Government to intimidate the BJP’s political opponents has been the stand of several state governments including Kerala. It would be best if the apex court asks the ED to refrain from resorting to probes against non-BJP governments, especially before the Lok Sabha and state assembly elections. Launching a probe in the run-up to parliamentary or state assembly elections give the ruling party an undue advantage. It would also put the political rivals of the BJP under a cloud casting aspersions on its credibility and integrity. This has been the refrain of non-BJP states. (IPA Service)