November 28th 2023.
The Madras High Court has raised questions about the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) approach in investigating a Rs 4,370 crore sand mining scam in Tamil Nadu. The court stayed the summons issued by the ED to five district Collectors directing them to appear before it in connection with the alleged illegal sand mining. The Tamil Nadu Government and the Collectors of Vellore, Thanjavur, Tiruchi, Ariyalur and Karur had approached the court with their plea.
The ED had submitted an Objection Affidavit stating that it had gathered scientific evidence with the help of experts from institutions including IIT Kanpur to establish that 24 lakh units of sand had been mined illegally in the 28 sand mining sites in the last one to two years. It also alleged that the excess sand mining was worth Rs 4,730 crore, whereas only Rs 36-odd crore was shown as revenue on the records.
The agency also said that senior officials of the Water Resources Department had testified before it certifying the illegal mining. One of the officials had deposed that he was under pressure from the office of the Water Resource Department Minister and Secretary to not honour summons from the ED.
After hearing the arguments, the Bench of Justices S S Sundar and Sunder Mohan said that they prima facie agreed with the Tamil Nadu Government’s contention that the ED could not engage in a fishing expedition to identify possible proceeds of crime. However, the court refused to stay the investigation and adjourned the case to December 21.
While the ED continues to investigate the sand mining scam, the Tamil Nadu Police has released the hall tickets for the Constable Recruitment exam which is scheduled to be held on December 10, 2023.
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