SC rejects review petition challenging its judgment on grounds of arrest by ED

"We have carefully gone through the review petitions and the connected papers. We do not find any error, much less apparent, in the order impugned, warranting its reconsideration. The review petitions are dismissed accordingly," a bench of Justices AS Bopanna and Sanjay Kumar said in its March 20 order.

The top court in its earlier judgement said that to give true meaning and purpose to the constitutional and the statutory mandate of Section 19(1) of the Act of 2002 of informing the arrested person of the grounds of arrest, "we hold that it would be necessary, henceforth, that a copy of such written grounds of arrest is furnished to the arrested person as a matter of course and without exception."

The top court had also opined that the probe agency should be transparent, not vindictive.

In October 2023, the top court said that the ED, mantled with far-reaching powers under the stringent Act of 2002, is not expected to be vindictive in its conduct and must be seen to be acting with utmost probity and with the highest degree of dispassion and fairness.

"In the case on hand, the facts demonstrate that the ED failed to discharge its functions and exercise its powers as per these parameters," it said.

The observation was made while granting relief to promoters of M3M Group -- Pankaj Bansal and Basant Bansal on October 3, 2023. The top court had also ruled that the arrest of the appellants and, in consequence, their remand to the custody of the ED and, thereafter, to judicial custody, cannot be sustained.

The top court allowed the appeals of the promoters and set aside the orders passed by the Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Last year in June, the Enforcement directorate arrested the promoters of M3M Group namely Pankaj Bansal and Basant Bansal. ED registered the complaint against them on the basis of the predicate offence registered by Anti- Corruption Bureau, Panchkula, Haryana.

Bansal Challenged the arrest in Punjab and Haryana High Court which was rejected in July 2023. Thereafter, Bansal moved to the top court and got the relief. (ANI)