The Supreme Court has agreed to consider a plea from the Tamil Nadu government seeking to transfer its case against Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids on state-run Tasmac from the Madras High Court to another high court outside the state. The petition was mentioned by senior advocate Vikram Chaudhari, who requested urgent listing before the next scheduled hearing in the Madras HC. The plea, filed under Article 139A of the Constitution, allows the Supreme Court to transfer cases between high courts. Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna confirmed that the matter would be listed soon for hearing.
The case concerns recent ED raids at Tasmac’s headquarters in Chennai, which the Madras High Court had previously put on hold. The court had also asked the ED to submit the FIR, Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), and related documents. However, on March 25, a division bench of the Madras HC recused itself from hearing Tasmac’s petitions, postponing the case to April 8. Before that date, the state government moved the apex court, alleging that the ED was harassing Tasmac staff under the pretext of investigation and that the probe violated federal principles.
Meanwhile, BJP Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai questioned the motive behind the state’s request to transfer only the Tasmac-related case while other cases involving DMK ministers remained in Tamil Nadu courts. He called for a fair ED investigation, highlighting that the agency had discovered financial irregularities and unaccounted cash in the liquor distribution network during its preliminary probe.
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