Delhi High Court rejects WB Minister Moloy Ghatak plea to quash ED case; says PMLA summons not hit by Article 20

The Delhi High Court on Friday rejected a plea filed by West Bengal Law Minister Moloy Ghatak to quash the Enforcement Directorate (ED) proceedings and the summons issued to him in connection with the alleged coal smuggling case [Moloy Ghatak v Directorate of Enforcement]. .Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said that there were no grounds to quash the summons issued under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The Court said that the prayer for quashing of the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) was premature because Ghatak's status is not yet identified in the ECIR. .In a detailed order, the Court also held that that mere issuance of summons under Section 50 of PMLA does not not attract the protection guaranteed by Constitution of India under Article 20(3). Article 20(3) says that no person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.The Court observed that the argument and reliance on Article 20(3) is contradictory in this case because even Ghatak does not know whether he is an accused or a witness in the case and yet he is seeking protection under Article 20(3) which is only available to an accused. "This Court is of the opinion that mere issuance of summons under Section 50 of PMLA for the purpose of giving information or evidence whether oral or documentary will not attract the protection guaranteed by the Indian Constitution under Article 20(3), as the argument in itself is contradictory since on the one hand, the petitioner himself states that he does not know whether he is accused or witness, on the other hand, he wants protection as an accused and a direction that he cannot be a witness against himself," the single-judge said. .Ghatak was summoned by the ED in March to appear at its headquarters in Delhi. The anti-money laundering agency also issued summons to the Ghatak’s personal assistant. However, they did not turn up.It was the minister’s case that his statements have already been recorded by the ED and the summons was being issued to harass him. He said that he is a senior citizen and not keeping well.Meanwhile, the ED told the Court that Ghatak has skipped summons 11 out of 13 times. It was further stated that Ghatak is not yet an accused in the matter and, therefore, he cannot seek quashing of the ECIR. .After considering the case, the Court refused to quash either the ECIR or the summons. It also rejected Ghatak's plea to direct the agency not to take any coercive action against him and not to issue summons repeatedly. However, the single-judge ordered the ED to question him in Kolkata after giving at least 24 hours notice."Notices shall also be issued to the Commissioner of Police, Kolkata and the Chief Secretary, State of West Bengal so that adequate police protection is afforded to the persons seeking to examine or interrogate the petitioners and to avoid any difficulty or obstruction or interference with the officers of Directorate of Enforcement. The petitioner being the Law Minister of the State of West Bengal itself where he wants to be examined will also ensure that no harm is caused to the officers of Directorate of Enforcement examining him at Kolkata as this relief is being granted to him at his request only.".Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa along with advocates Suhaan Mukerji, Syed Arham Masud, SP Singh, Wasif Naushad, Sahil Saraswat, Tanmay Sinha and Sayandeep Pahari appeared for Moloy Ghatak. ED Was represented through Additional Solicitor General SV Raju and ED's Special Counsel Padmesh Mishra. .[Read Judgment]