In the midst of a verbal exchange between the Chhattisgarh government's counsel and ED in front of the Supreme Court, the state accused the agency of harassing its officials while looking into an alleged liquor scam; the ED denied the claim. The apex court subsequently ordered the central agency to "not create an atmosphere of fear" as it could make even a legitimate investigation appear suspect.
The SC was hearing a plea of Karishma Dhebar and her husband Anwar Dhebar, brother of Congress leader and Raipur mayor Aijaz Dhebar, who approached the court challenging the constitutional validity of Section 50 and Section 63 of the Prevention Of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The provisions empower ED officials to summon any person without giving any reason to record his statement and which provides punishment for giving false information or failure to give information.
The bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Ahsanuddin Amanullah only awarded Anwar's wife temporary protection because Anwar had already been detained by the ED. Other suspects who are being investigated by the ED have previously received similar protection from the bench.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal and lawyer Summer Sodhi, appearing for the state, questioned ED's probe in this case and said it was politically motivated and meant to destabilise the state government. Sibal told the bench that the 51 officers of the excise department have given complaint in writing alleging mental and physical torture by ED officers during the course of investigation and that the agency is pressuring them to name the chief minister in order to implicate him in the case.