The Punjab and Haryana High Court reprimanded the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning a Congress MLA from Haryana for 14 hours and 40 minutes in a single stretch ahead of his arrest in a money laundering case.
Justice Mahabir Singh Sindhu observed that such an action was “not heroic” on the part of the central agency, rather it was against the “dignity of a human being”. The court called for the sensitisation of ED officers and following some "reasonable time limits" for questioning of suspects.
The High Court made these remarks as it cancelled the arrest of a Congress leader, Surender Panwar, in a money laundering case. Panwar is the party’s candidate from Sonipat in the upcoming Haryana Assembly election.
The accused “duly appeared in the Zonal Office of ED at Gurugram on July 19, 2024, at 11 am and was constantly interrogated till 1:40 am the next day for 14 hours and 40 minutes, which is not heroic on the part of ED, rather it is against the dignity of a human being”, the High Court was quoted as saying by Bar and Bench.
The Court also highlighted the necessity of establishing a mechanism to ensure fair investigations that uphold the basic human rights outlined by the United Nations, rather than subjecting the accused to unnecessary harassment.
"It would be appreciated if some necessary mechanism is put in place for fair investigation of the accused as per basic human rights laid down by the United Nations Organisation (UNO), instead of meting out unnecessary harassment, for such a longer duration at one stretch for a given day," the court observed.
It further said,“For the future, in view of the mandate under Article 21 of the Constitution, this Court is observing that the Directorate of Enforcement shall take remedial measures and sensitise the officers to follow some reasonable time limit for investigation against the suspect(s) in such cases”.
Panwar, who was a Director of Development Strategies (India) or DSPL, was arrested by the anti-money laundering agency in July this year in a case related to illegal mining linked to the DSPL.
Cancelling his arrest, the High Court observed that the individual had ceased to be the Director of DSPL in November 2013. It stated that even if the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had imposed a penalty on DSPL in 2022, this would not render Panwar liable under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The Court further noted that illegal mining is not classified as a scheduled offence under the PMLA, asserting, “Hence, prima facie, the petitioner cannot be prosecuted on that basis”.
The High Court pointed out that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) lacked evidence to demonstrate that Panwar had either directly or indirectly participated in the crime, leading to the quashing of his arrest and ordering his immediate release.
