Jharkhand High Court directs CBI to investigate ED-Police dispute

Ranchi — In a significant order, the Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe the FIR registered against officials of the Enforcement Directorate amid an ongoing confrontation with the Jharkhand Police.

Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi pronounced the verdict after previously reserving the judgment. The court ordered that the entire matter surrounding the FIR be transferred to the CBI for investigation.

The ruling comes as a blow to the state government and Ranchi police, which had registered the case against ED officers at the Ranchi Airport police station. The ED had challenged the FIR in court, calling it baseless and seeking both its cancellation and a CBI inquiry into the incident.

The dispute began after Santosh Kumar, a staff member of the state’s Drinking Water and Sanitation Department and an accused in a money laundering case, lodged a complaint alleging misconduct by ED officials.

He claimed that during questioning at the ED’s Ranchi office on January 12, he was assaulted, verbally abused and subjected to mental harassment.

Following the complaint, Ranchi police registered an FIR and conducted a search operation at the ED office, triggering a major standoff between the state police and the central agency.

The ED later approached the High Court through a writ petition, alleging that the police action was intended to derail its investigation.

While hearing the case earlier on January 16, the High Court had stayed the police probe and remarked that the functioning of a central investigative body should not be obstructed. It also directed that the security of the ED office be entrusted to central paramilitary forces such as the Central Industrial Security Force or the Border Security Force, and ordered that CCTV recordings linked to the incident be preserved.

During the hearing, the ED was represented by Additional Solicitor General S. V. Raju along with advocates A. K. Das and Saurabh Kumar. The state government’s case was argued by senior Supreme Court lawyer S. Nagamuthu, Advocate General Rajiv Ranjan and advocate Dipankar, while advocate Sumit Gadodia appeared on behalf of the complainant.

With inputs from IANS