The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to transfer a corruption case against a senior enforcement officer in Tamil Nadu to the Central Bureau of Investigation, LiveLaw reported.
The case, pertaining to a claim of bribery against an Enforcement Directorate employee named Ankit Tiwari, is being investigated by the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, which has also conducted searches at the central agency’s Madurai office.
The state law enforcement agency had arrested Tiwari on December 1 for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 20 lakh from a government doctor named Suresh Babu, who was named in a disproportionate assets case in 2018.
Tiwari allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 3 crore, threatening Babu with arrest if he did not pay up. Babu reportedly negotiated the sum down to Rs 51 lakh, of which Rs 20 lakh was paid to Tiwari on November 1 in cash.
The Madras High Court has denied bail to Tiwari in the case. The Enforcement Directorate has also registered an Enforcement Case Information Report case against Tiwari under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
On Wednesday, the Enforcement Directorate filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court invoking Article 32 of the Constitution, accusing the state government of hindering its access to first information reports and other essential materials related to the case, which are needed for the central agency to carry out its own investigation.
It has been alleged that the Tamil Nadu government, citing sensitivity of information, has been selectively releasing case-related first information reports to the public. This allows the state government to control the information accessible by law enforcement agencies as well, the petition said.
The Enforcement Directorate has also raised concerns over the search conducted at its Madurai office office on December 1. It has alleged that state government officials were accompanied by unidentified persons who have accessed files containing sensitive information pertaining to the case.
The petition also accuses the Tamil Nadu government of employing state machinery to obstruct lawful investigations by the central agency against powerful individuals including ministers and government officials.
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