ED interrogations for 15 hours ‘not heroic’, ‘against human dignity’: HC

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has struck down the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) arrest of Haryana Congress MLA Surender Panwar in a money laundering case, citing a lack of substantial evidence. The court order, pronounced by Judge Mahabir Singh Sindhu on Monday and uploaded on Wednesday, not only quashed the arrest but also granted bail to the politician.

In its 37-page order, the court strongly criticised the ED’s investigative practices, urging the agency to adopt “reasonable time limits” for investigations to avoid “unnecessary harassment.” The court noted that Panwar had been interrogated for nearly 15 hours continuously before his arrest on July 20 at the ED’s Gurugram office. Expressing concern over the ED’s interrogation tactics, the court described the prolonged questioning as “not heroic” and “against the dignity of a human being.” It advised the ED to implement a “necessary mechanism for fair investigation” in line with basic human rights principles established by the United Nations.

Judge Sindhu stated: “Prima facie, the petitioner (Panwar) has not been found involved in any illegal activity, in any manner whatsoever, attracting the offence of money laundering under PMLA.” The court further emphasised that “illegal mining” is not a scheduled offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), rendering Panwar’s prosecution on that count untenable.The court, however, clarified that its order should not be interpreted as a judgement on the merits of the ED’s complaint filed before the special court in Ambala.Panwar, 55, who has been re-nominated by the Congress party as its Sonipat candidate for the upcoming Haryana Assembly polls, had petitioned the High Court challenging the legality of his arrest and remand while seeking interim bail.The High Court dismissed the ED’s allegations that Panwar was a beneficiary of an illegal mining syndicate, citing a lack of evidence linking him to the accused companies. It noted that Panwar had ceased to be a director of one of the implicated companies since November 2013, contrary to the ED’s claims.

While the ED had alleged that Panwar received proceeds of crime amounting to about Rs 26 crore from illegal mining in Yamunanagar district, the court found no substantial evidence to support this claim.