SC Dismisses TMC Leader Abhishek Banerjee's Plea in ED Summons Case

The Supreme Court has dismissed appeals by TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee and his wife, Rujira, against ED summons in a money laundering case tied to school recruitment irregularities in West Bengal. The court found no merit in their arguments and validated the ED's jurisdiction.

The Supreme Court dismissed the plea of TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee and his wife, Rujira, challenging the Directorate of Enforcement's summons in a money laundering case related to alleged recruitment irregularities in West Bengal's schools. A bench of justices, Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma, affirmed that the appeals were devoid of merit.

The counsels for the appellants had relied heavily on a Ministry of Finance report delineating the territorial jurisdiction of ED's various zonal offices. However, the court found this submission fallacious, emphasizing that the ED's offices were universally set up to scrutinize money laundering cases effectively.

Additionally, the court noted that the Headquarters Investigation Unit (HIU) isn't restrained by territorial limits, validating the ED's jurisdiction in Delhi. It highlighted that all persons summoned under Section 50 of the PMLA must comply, and failure to do so, as in the case of Rujira Banerjee, could lead to legal repercussions.

(With inputs from agencies.)