TASMAC versus ED case: Madras HC condemns Tamil Nadu Govt for insulting court

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 8 (ANI): The Tamil Nadu government and Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation had filed a petition in the Madras High Court seeking to declare the Enforcement Directorate's raid at the TASMAC headquarters as illegal and to restrain the ED from harassing officials under the guise of investigation.
In this context, a petition was also filed in the Supreme Court objecting to Justices SM Subramaniam and K Rajasekar hearing the TASMAC case. This petition was listed for hearing today in the Supreme Court.
When the case came up again today before Justices SM Subramaniam and K Rajashekar at the Madras High Court, the Tamil Nadu government's side requested to postpone the case, stating that the matter was already placed before the Supreme Court.
At that point, the judges remarked that if it had been informed earlier that the matter was pending before the Supreme Court, they wouldn't have listed the case for hearing. They strongly condemned the government, stating that such actions amount to undermining the dignity of the court, and added that at the very least, there should be honesty in dealings with the court.
Furthermore, the judges questioned whether the petition was truly filed in public interest or simply to protect certain TASMAC officials.
The state government responded, saying the petition was filed to uphold the rights of the state and that they had every right to approach the court.
Following this, the judges adjourned the hearing and directed the Tamil Nadu government to present their arguments at 2:15 pm if the Supreme Court had not taken up the matter by then.
Later, the Tamil Nadu Government decided to withdraw the case against the Enforcement Directorate's raid.
The Advocate General of Tamil Nadu requested some time to officially inform the court of the government's decision to withdraw the case.
The judges responded by stating that if the case is to be withdrawn, a formal affidavit (sworn statement) must be filed in this regard.
However, since both the Tamil Nadu government and TASMAC had filed separate petitions, the Enforcement Directorate argued that the government alone cannot decide to withdraw the case.
The Madras High Court granted the state government permission to file a brief affidavit on this matter. (ANI)