Shivani Thakur
Published on: June 21, 2022 at 15:41 IST
In response to a Petition filed by members of the Congress party seeking blanket Anticipatory Bail for MPs and MLAs belonging to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), Maharashtra’s ruling coalition, a Mumbai court sent notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Special Judge under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) MG Deshpande on June 18 issued notice to the agency seeking its response to the plea.
The Judge further demanded that the applicants furnish documentation that they were authorized to seek remedy on behalf of all MVA members in a representative capacity.
If that didn’t work, the Judge threatened to send individual notices to every member of the MVA, asking if they had petitioned the court for relief under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
“The BJP is feeling totally uncomfortable and members of the said party including Subramaniyam Swami, Devendra Fadnavis, Kirit Somayya and others are trying to make false complaints against members of the MVA and in that process by using the central agency such as ED arrested the then Home Minister Anil Deshmukh and thereafter Cabinet Minister Nawab Malik and by creating and manipulating various illegal matters and also unconnected factors as the two persons are connected with MVA government,” the plea emphasized.
According to the Petition, the BJP-led central government had all assets at its disposal and was attempting to irritate the whole opposition parties.
The Petition voiced concerns that the central administration was abusing the availability of such resources by instilling fear in the minds of opposition supporters.