Solicitor General tells SC that ED recovered Rs 23,000 crore laundered money and returned it to fraud victims. CJI responds with sharp remarks on prolonged trials and media narratives.
New Delhi: On August 7, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Supreme Court that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had successfully recovered approximately Rs 23,000 crore of laundered money and returned it to the victims of financial frauds.
This disclosure was made in an open court before a special bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai, along with Justice Satish Chandra Sharma.
The hearing was regarding review petitions filed against the Supreme Court’s earlier judgment dated May 2, which had ordered the liquidation of Bhushan Power & Steel Limited (BPSL) and set aside the resolution plan proposed by JSW Steel Limited.
Earlier, on July 31, the same bench had recalled its May 2 decision and agreed to hear the matter afresh. During Thursday’s hearing on these review pleas, a lawyer brought up the ED’s involvement in the BPSL case.
In response, the Chief Justice commented,
“Here also ED is there.”
Responding to this remark, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta made a fresh and noteworthy revelation. He said,
“Let me tell a fact, which was never said in any court, and that is …ED has recovered Rs 23,000 crore and given it to the victims.”
He further explained that the money recovered by the Enforcement Directorate is not kept by the government or added to the treasury, but rather returned to the people who were harmed financially.
“What is the conviction rate,”
the CJI asked, raising concerns about the actual legal outcomes in such cases.
To this, Mehta replied that even in cases under criminal laws, conviction rates remain low. He pointed out that this is largely because of the problems affecting the criminal justice system in India.
Chief Justice responded with a sharp observation, saying,
“Even if they are not convicted you have been successful in sentencing them almost without a trial for years together.”
In defence, the Solicitor General narrated incidents from ED raids, particularly involving politicians. He said,
“In some of the cases where the politicians were raided, where the cash was found, our machines stopped functioning because of the huge cash… we had to bring new machines.”
He added that nowadays, certain narratives are being spread through social media and YouTube videos, especially when high-profile political figures are caught.
Responding to this, the CJI clearly stated,
“We do not decide matters on narratives… I don’t see news channels. I see headlines in newspapers only in the morning for 10-15 minutes.”
Mehta agreed and acknowledged the judiciary’s independence, saying,
“I knew the cases are not decided by the judges on the narratives being built on social media and outside courtrooms.”
It is important to mention that several benches of the Supreme Court have recently expressed concerns over the manner in which the ED operates, particularly in cases that involve political leaders from the opposition.
In fact, in another matter heard on July 21, the CJI-led bench had said that the Enforcement Directorate was
“crossing all limits.”
That case was taken up by the court on its own (suo motu), and it dealt with the ED summoning two senior advocates merely for giving legal advice or representing their clients during ED investigations.
Case Title:
Kalyani Transco v. Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd.
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