Supreme Court Criticizes Probe Agency For Lack Of Fairness, Warns Against Vindictiveness

In a significant development, the Supreme Court has canceled the arrests of Basant Bansal and Pankaj Bansal, who are directors of the Gurugram-based realty group M3M, in a money laundering case. The Bansals had taken their case to the Supreme Court after the Punjab and Haryana High Court had dismissed their petition challenging their arrest.

The Supreme Court, in a stern rebuke to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), emphasized the importance of fairness and transparency in the actions of the probe agency. The top court noted that the Bansals had been summoned for questioning on June 14 and were subsequently arrested on the same day in another case filed by the Enforcement Directorate.

In its judgment, the Supreme Court underscored that every action of the ED should adhere to principles of transparency, fairness, and integrity. The court criticized the ED for what it viewed as a failure to fulfill its responsibilities and exercise its powers properly.

The judges emphasized that the ED must not engage in vindictive behavior and should be perceived as acting with the utmost probity and fairness. They also noted that the failure of the accused individuals to respond to the agency’s questions should not serve as sufficient grounds for their arrest.

The Supreme Court clarified that the ED must have specific reasons to believe that the accused individuals are guilty of an offense under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. It emphasized that mere non-cooperation with summons should not be a basis for arresting anyone. The ED cannot expect an admission of guilt from a person summoned for interrogation.

The arrests of Basant and Pankaj Bansal by the Enforcement Directorate were related to an alleged bribery case involving a former special judge for the ED, Sudhir Parmar, and his nephew Roop Kumar Bansal, who is a third director of the real estate firm. The ED claimed to have “reliable information” suggesting that Sudhir Parmar had shown favoritism to Roop Kumar Bansal and his brother Basant Bansal.

Basant and Pankaj Bansal had been summoned by the ED in connection with the investigation before their subsequent arrest.