SC questions ED actions in liquor scam probe
POLITY – CENTRE STATE RELATIONS
15 OCTOBER 2025
- Extending the stay on the Enforcement Directorate’s probe into money laundering cases registered against the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) in connection with an alleged liquor retail scam, the Supreme Court orally questioned whether the agency’s probe encroached upon the State’s authority to investigate offences.
- Hearing petitions filed by TASMAC and the Tamil Nadu government, a Bench of Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran directed that the case be listed after the court pronounces its judgment on the review petitions challenging its 2022 ruling in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary vs Union of India case.
- In its 2022 verdict, the court had held that providing a copy of the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) to the accused is not mandatory in every instance.
- While TASMAC has argued that it was denied access to the ECIR in the present proceedings, the ED maintained that the ECIR is merely an “internal administrative document” and that no legal right exists for the accused to obtain a copy.
- The dispute pertains to the ED’s search and seizure operations at the headquarters of TASMAC, the State’s public sector liquor retailer. The agency has alleged large-scale financial irregularities involving kickbacks, manipulation in procurement, and laundering of illicit proceeds linked to TASMAC’s business activities.
- The Tamil Nadu government, under Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, has firmly rejected these claims, accusing the BJP-led Union government of misusing Central agencies to harass political rivals and undermine the State’s autonomy.
