No justification for repeated summons by ED to Isaac in KIIFB probe: Kerala HC

The Kerala High Court on Monday said there was ”no justification” for the repeated summons to senior CPI(M) leader Thomas Isaac by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the probe into alleged violations by KIIFB.

The court also said there was no justification for the repeated summons to the CEO and the joint fund manager of the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), and put on hold any issuance of summons by the ED in the case for two months.

While putting on hold further issuance of summons, Justice V G Arun also said that investigation by the agency was not liable to be interdicted.

The directions were issued by the court on the pleas of Isaac challenging the summons issued to him and of KIIFB opposing the probe into its financial transactions and the summons issued to its top officials.

The high court also impleaded the Reserve Bank of India as a party in the matter and listed both pleas for further hearing on November 15.

KIIFB, in its plea, has challenged the repeated summons to its officials, including its CEO Kandathil Mathew Abraham and its joint fund manager Anie J Thomas, and also opposed the ED probe saying that it was hampering its ability to raise funds for development projects in the state.

Isaac, in his plea, has contended that the agency has no power to question him or ask for his personal information or details just because he was the former head of KIIFB and presently its ex-officio member.

He has further contended that the ED was attempting to conduct a fishing and roving enquiry into the activities of KIIFB and such enquiries have been time and again been deprecated by the apex court.

He has claimed that the summons issued to him do not reveal the nature of the violation, if any, by him of the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) or as to what is the investigation in relation to which his response is sought.

Therefore, the ”summons are ex-facie illegal and beyond the jurisdiction of the scope of inquiry contemplated under the FEMA since admittedly there is no violation of any provision of the said Act”, Isaac has also claimed in his plea.

The ED had served a notice to the senior Marxist party leader last month, seeking his appearance before it on July 19. He, however, did not appear before the central agency, saying he had to attend classes at a party-run institute in the state capital.

The second notice seeking his appearance was sent by ED in the first week of August after which he moved the high court challenging the summons.