Madras High Court upholds ED raids at Tasmac
The Madras High Court has ruled that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) can continue its investigation into the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), the state’s liquor seller.
The court dismissed requests from the Tamil Nadu government and TASMAC that asked for the ED’s recent raids to be declared illegal.
The ED conducted searches at TASMAC’s main office in Chennai between March 6th and 8th. They are looking into claims of big money problems at TASMAC, including allegations of overcharging for liquor, fixing tenders, and bribery. These issues are said to have caused losses of over 1,000 crore rupees.
The Tamil Nadu government and TASMAC argued that the ED’s raids were unfair and that ED officers harassed their employees. They asked the court to stop the ED from investigating further.
However, a panel of two judges at the Madras High Court disagreed. They said that the ED has the right to investigate money laundering cases and that the inconvenience caused during the raids does not outweigh the need to look into possible financial crimes.
The judges also strongly criticized the Tamil Nadu government for trying to block the investigation.