Delhi High Court rejects plea by Mahua Moitra to restrain ED from leaking details about FEMA probe to media

The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed a plea filed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra to restrain the Enforcement Directorate (ED) from leaking sensitive and unverified information to the media in relation to the agency’s investigation against her for an alleged violation of the Foreign Exchange Maintenance Act, 1999 (FEMA)..Justice Subramonium Prasad pronounced the order..Moitra moved the Court alleging that the ED has been leaking sensitive information to the media regarding a FEMA probe in connection with which she was summoned recently.Moitra also sought to restrain media houses from reporting the unverified leaks. The media houses which were respondents in Moitra's case included ANI, Business Today, Economic Times, Financial Express, Hindustan Times, India TV, Indian Express, Mint, Moneycontrol, NDTV, Times Group, and others..The ED told the Court that it has not leaked any information to the media and that it does not know how the information about Moitra being summoned in the case was made known to the press. .The federal agency had issued summons to Moitra last week and asked her to appear before it on February 19 in connection with a probe into alleged FEMA violations.She was asked to appear before the agency's headquarters in Delhi with some documents related to some foreign investments, it was reported.The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) too is conducting a preliminary inquiry into the allegations against her on a reference from the Lokpal..Appearing for Moitra, Senior Advocate Rebecca John argued that information about the case was published by the media even before she received the summons.She said that there has been a violation of Moitra's rights under Article 21 of the Constitution."I am not against ED's right to investigate. I am saying I will submit to their jurisdiction. It is about the information being leaked prior to being communicated to me. ED is drip-feeding confidential information to the media," John said..The Court, however, asked John about how the reports of Moitra moving the court were published in the media even before the court heard the matter."You are a public personality, a public person," Justice Prasad added..Advocate Siddhant Kumar appeared for ANI today and argued that the media has a right to publish source-based information and that journalists have been reporting source-based information for a long time.Kumar added that the prayers sought by Mahua Moitra would have a chilling effect on the media."I am entitled to investigate and publish source-based information. We have been reporting source-based information since a long time. It because of source based information that scandals like Watergate in the US came to light," he said..Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma appeared for the Central government and highlighted that the media got to know about Moitra moving the court in the matter based on source-based information. He added that the government cannot answer the questions raised by Moitra's plea.The Court after considering the submissions made by all parties dismissed the plea.