The Kerala High Court on Tuesday said that it would not permit the court to be used as a venue for political fights. [Vinod Mathew Wilson v. Union of India & Ors.]
A division bench of Justices P Gopinath and Syam Kumar VM made the observation while it was considering a public interest litigation (PIL) petition moved by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) State President Vinod Mathew Wilson.
The PIL raised concerns about the probe into the 2021 Kodakara black money heist which allegedly involves Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State President, K Surendran.
"Our concern is only this. The Court shall not be made a venue for political slugfest. We will not permit it. You may have various reasons but we will not allow that," Justice Gopinath orally remarked when the case was taken up today.
Justice Gopinath also remarked that the investigating agencies involved in the probe seem to be doing their job.
"State police has filed the chargesheet, Income Tax Department is investigating the source of the funds, the Enforcement Directorate is acting under the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act). What more should be done?", the judge orally queried.
In April 2021, days before the Kerala Legislative Assembly Election, a car travelling on the National highway near Kodakara in Thrissur was looted. The driver of the car filed a complaint that ₹25 lakh, which was supposed to be payable to one Dharmajan, was taken away. The amount involved was later found to be more than ₹3 crores.
According to Wilson, during the course of the investigation into the heist, it was found that unaccounted money was brought from Karnataka to Kerala for using in the election campaign of BJP as per the directions of BJP office bearers including Surendran.
In his PIL, Wilson contended that the Enforcement Directorate has delayed its probe into the money laundering activities that was unearthed in the investigation by the State Police. The delay makes it clear that without the Court's intervention, the ED would not take action against the persons involved in the hawala transactions.
The hawala system refers to an informal and illegal channel for transferring funds from one location to another.
Wilson argued that the offences alleged in the case would be punishable under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and that the same ought to be investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
"The hawala transactions is having hamful ramifications affecting economic security of India. The investigation under UAPA Act is warranted in the matter. Any act which affects the economic security of India is termed as terrorist act as per S.15 of the UAPA Act and hence a thorough investigation is warranted in the matter [sic]", the PIL stated.
Wilson informed the Court had he had sent representations to the ED to take further action against the persons involved in the hawala transactions. Another representation was sent to the Central government and NIA seeking action under the UAPA and NIA Act.
However, no action has been taken in this regard, Wilson contended.
Therefore, he approached the High Court with the present PIL seeking directions to the concerned authorities to consider and take action on the representations he has sent them.
When the matter came up before the Court today, the counsel for the ED informed the Court that the ED's investigation is almost completed and questioned the maintainability of the PIL. He also contended that Wilson's petition, moved 3 years after the incident, is one that is politically motivated, especially considering the fact that the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections are currently underway.
The counsel for the ED offered to file a statement in this regard.
The Court granted him time to do the same and posted the matter for hearing on May 10.
The Court also made it clear that it has not admitted the matter yet.
Wilson was represented by advocates Manu Ramachandran, K Kiranlal, TS Sarath, R Rajesh, Sameer M Nair, Sailakshmi Menon, Jothisha KS and Shifana M.
Central Government Counsel Jaishankar V Nair appeared for the ED.