HC seeks ED reply on Nirav firm’s petition

The Delhi high court on Wednesday sought response of the Enforcement Directorate on a petition by Nirav Modi’s firm, Firestar Diamond, against a money laundering case lodged by the agency in connection with the ` 11,000 crore Punjab National Bank ( PNB) fraud case.

A two- judge bench of Justices S. Muralidhar and I. S. Mehta issued notice to the ED on Firestar Diamond International Private Ltd’s plea seeking direction to the agency to supply it several documents, including a copy of the search warrants. The bench, however, refrained itself from staying the proceedings against the company saying it wants to consider the “stay part” after the agency files their response.

The bench directed the ED to place before it the sequence in which it has initiated proceedings in the matter. “The relevant records involved in the matter should be placed before the court on the next date of the hearing, March 19. The officer conversant with the present case should also remain present in the court to answer all queries.”

Lawyer Vijay Aggrawal, appearing for the firm, has sought quashing of the ED action of taking away the movable property and depositing the same with the PNB. He told the court that the agency be directed to supply copy of the Enforcement Case Information Report ( ECIR) registered by it, pursuant to which the search and seizure was conducted by the ED on its premises.

Additional SolicitorGeneral Sandeep Sethi and advocate Amit Mahajan, appearing for the ED contended that the firm’s plea was premature and the challenge was misconceived.

Billionaire Nirav Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi and others are being investigated by multiple probe agencies after the scam recently came to light following a complaint by the PNB that they had allegedly cheated the nationalised bank to the tune of ` 11,400 crore, with the purported involvement of a few employees of the bank.

Lawyer Vijay Aggrawal, appearing for the firm, has sought quashing of the ED action of taking away the movable property and depositing the same with the PNB