Aastha Thakur
Published on: 19 December 2022 at 19:02 IST
The Madras High Court granted the extension of the interim stay term on the Enforcement Directorate (ED) proceedings against Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister Anitha Radhakrishnan in a case of money laundering.
The extension order was given by a bench of Justices PN Prakash and N Anand Venkatesh.
Radhakrishnan petitioned the Court in June of this year, requesting that all proceedings against him be quashed.
The ED claims that the minister amassed over 26 crores in assets while serving as an MLA in Tiruchendur Assembly Constituency and later as Minister for Housing and Urban Development.
The petitioner before the HC, argued that the charge against him was not a schedule offence when the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act came into force.
However, the Supreme Court directed the High Court to dispose of the case on the merits as soon as possible. In accordance with the apex court order, the bench commenced the hearing, only to realise the case could not be resolved within the stipulated time.
“Since one of us [Justice PN Prakash] is retiring shortly, we are unable to take up the final disposal of this case as directed by the Apex Court as the Additional Solicitor General has to be heard in detail on all the legal issues raised by the learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner.”
“That apart, the interim order of stay that has been granted by the Apex Court expires on 19.12.2022 and since we are satisfied that the petitioner has raised substantial legal issues which require a thorough consideration and determination and that the Enforcement Directorate has also provisionally attached some of the properties of the petitioner”
“..we are inclined to continue the interim order of stay that was granted by this court earlier. Accordingly, the interim order of stay granted by this court on 29.06.2022 till further orders,” the Court said.
The next hearing in the matter will be on January 30, 2023.
Case Title: Anitha R Radhakrishnan v. The Directorate of Enforcement and Anr.