Serious Allegation Of Forgery Of Magistrate's Order: Calcutta HC Stays Order To Collect ED Official's Voice Sample
The Calcutta High Court on Friday stayed an order of a trial court directing the taking of a voice sample of an Enforcement Directorate official.
Justice Jay Sengupta stayed the direction to collect the voice sample of a Joint Director of the Enforcement Directorate for a period of three weeks after summer vacation.
Kapil Raj, the ED Joint Director had approached the High Court challenging some Orders of the Chief Judicial Magistrate and Judicial Magistrate, 9th Court, Alipore, South 24 Parganas.
Additional Solicitor General S. V. Raju appeared for the Kapil Raj. It was contended that Kapil Raj is investigating the charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act pertaining to the alleged coal mining scam involving huge amounts of money and that names of several influential political persons have surfaced in the said case.
"As a countermeasure, the impugned proceeding has been initiated only to harass the officials of the Enforcement Directorate"; ASG contended.
He also said that such directions have been stayed by the Delhi High Court and that the application was filed before the Chief Judicial Magistrate suppressing these aspects.
The ASG argued that though the Magistrate passed a direction to take the voice sample of the ED Official subject to consent given by such officer, the investigating agency sent a notice to the said ED Official with a forged copy of the said order.
"From the forged copy it would appear that the learned Magistrate had directed collection of voice sample of the ED Official without there being any mention about the requirement of any consent of the said official", it was argued.
The Court observed that "...a serious allegation has been leveled by the petitioner that an order passed by the learned Magistrate was forged. Therefore, the matter needs to be heard at length".
"The operation of the impugned orders, so far as they relate to the direction to collect voice sample of the ED Official, shall remain stayed till three weeks after the ensuing summer vacation", the Court directed.
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