SC: MADRAS HC SHOULD'VE FOLLOWED NATURAL JUSTICE BEFORE RECALLING ORDER QUASHING ED CASE AGAINST EX-DGP:

The Supreme Court today quashed the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against former Director General of Police (DGP) MS Jaffar Sait in a money laundering case, ruling that the Madras High Court had committed an error by rehearing the matter after it had already allowed Sait’s quashing petition, without issuing notice to the concerned parties. A bench comprising Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan allowed Sait’s appeal challenging the Madras High Court’s decision to relist for hearing his petition, which had earlier been allowed. In doing so, the Supreme Court also disposed of Criminal OP No. 17762 of 2024, which was the petition filed by Sait before the High Court seeking quashing of the ECIR.

The Supreme Court noted that since Sait had filed his appeal before it, the predicate offence in the case had already been quashed against all the accused. “The only option left is to quash the ECIR,” the Court observed. The allegations against Sait pertained to the illegal acquisition of a plot from the Tamil Nadu Housing Board in 2011. The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption had registered a corruption case, which served as the predicate offence for the money laundering proceedings initiated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). This predicate offence was quashed by the Madras High Court in 2019. Sait subsequently filed a petition before the High Court to quash the ECIR dated June 22, 2020, along with all related proceedings initiated by the ED.

On August 21, 2024, the Division Bench of the Madras High Court, comprising Justice SM Subramaniam and Justice V. Sivagnanam, orally pronounced an order in open court allowing Sait’s writ petition and quashing the ED complaint. However, without issuing any notice to the parties, the same bench relisted the matter for rehearing on August 23, 2024. After this rehearing, the High Court reserved its judgment, prompting Sait to approach the Supreme Court. The apex court stayed the High Court’s proceedings on September 6, 2024, and directed the Registrar General of the Madras High Court to examine the case records. On September 30, 2024, the Supreme Court observed that the conduct of the Madras High Court was “absolutely wrong.” The Registrar General’s report confirmed that a final order had indeed been passed on August 21, 2024, allowing the writ petition, and the case status on the court’s official portal reflected this until oral directions were issued by the judges later that evening to relist the case for August 23, 2024

“The petition was first allowed and then relisted for hearing. From the report of the Registrar General of the High Court we have no manner of doubt that the petition was allowed but the reasoned order was not uploaded”, the Court observed. The Court clarified that if the order quashing the predicate offence is later set aside, the Enforcement Directorate may apply to the Supreme Court for recall of this order and for restoration of the ECIR.