In Tamil Nadu vs Probe Agency Over Summons, Court Order Tomorrow

The Madras High Court on Tuesday stayed the operation of summons issued by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) to five District Collectors in Tamil Nadu on November 17, asking them to appear in person, along with their Aadhaar cards, and submit details regarding all sand mining quarries in their districts.

Justices S.S. Sundar and Sunder Mohan granted the interim stay following writ petitions filed jointly by the State government and the Collectors challenging the summons, as well as the authority of the ED, a Central agency, to investigate such offences without the consent of the State government.

The judges made it clear they were not staying the investigation as such, though interim applications had been taken out by the State government to stay all further proceedings pursuant to the registration of an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) by the ED, and that the stay would be confined to the summons alone.