Madras High Court dismisses pleas by TASMAC against ED's raid on premises

Chennai: The Madras High Court on Wednesday dismissed the petitions filed by Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) and the state government, which challenged the raids conducted by the ED on the premises of the state-run liquor retailer in March.

A division bench comprising Justices S M Subramaniam and K Rajasekar dismissed two writ petitions filed by TASMAC and one by the TN government.

The bench directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to proceed with all further action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

According to ED, it had found serious financial fraud involving distillery companies and bottling entities through generation of unaccounted cash and illicit payments.

In its petition, TASMAC sought a direction to the ED not to harass its employees under the guise of investigation.

It also sought a declaration that the ED's action of investigating the offence within the territorial limits of the state was violative of federalism.