Keeping the ED impartial, apolitical

The Supreme Court backed the powers of the Enforcement Directorate under the 2002 Prevention of Money Laundering Act on Wednesday, holding that stringent provisions of attachment of property and arrest were constitutional and didn’t suffer from arbitrariness. The SC also said that supply of the Enforcement Case Information Report — the equivalent of the First Information Report — in every case to the accused was not mandatory. The SC has upheld this section, but in two earlier judgments this year, different benches have hinted that courts should resort to quicker adjudication in cases of special laws where the rigours of bail are harsher than the Indian Penal Code, and that bail is not automatically barred under such laws, especially when the trial is delayed or protracted. Unfortunately, to reform this, and ensure that money-laundering probes remain apolitical and impartial, India needs strong political will and an inter-party consensus, both of which seem elusive today.