TASMAC: HC stays ED action against Akash Bhaskaran
The Madras High Court, on Friday, halted all proceedings by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against film producer Aakash Baskaran. The court also directed the investigation agency to return all materials seized from him.
The ED raided multiple locations linked with Baskaran, and his associate, Vikram Ravindran, on May 16, in connection with the alleged scam in Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac). The ED’s search and seizure operations at multiple premises were part of the intensified probe into the Tasmac scam.
Bhaskaran, a film producer at Dawn Pictures, came under the ED’s scanner due to his alleged proximity to the ruling DMK party, specifically Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin. His name emerged in connection with the alleged siphoning off of funds in the Tasmac scam.
The Madras High Court questioned the legal foundation of the ED’s actions against Baskaran and Ravindran. The Division Bench comprising Justices MS Ramesh and V Lakshminarayan held that the authorisation for the raids appeared to be prima facie beyond the ED’s jurisdiction.
The court also noted that the materials relied upon by the agency lacked any incriminating content justifying such coercive measures. The judges underscored that sealing premises in the absence of the occupants — without recording the presence of any material evidence — violated the scope of Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
“The mere act of sealing cannot be presumed as equivalent to seizure,” the bench observed, as quoted by Live Law, adding that such actions risked misleading implications about the agency’s powers.
Earlier on May 22, the Supreme Court issued a stay on ED’s investigation into Tasmac. A senior DMK leader viewed this as a welcome move, stating it provides relief not just for Tamil Nadu but for all non-BJP states. The Supreme Court order came after the Tamil Nadu government moved a petition challenging Madras High Court’s order.