The Hindu : New Delhi News : Delhi High Court pulls up Enforcement Directorate

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Thursday, Nov 16, 2006
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New Delhi

Delhi High Court pulls up Enforcement Directorate

Nirnimesh Kumar

For not producing witnesses to help the trial court to decide cases

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has pulled up the Enforcement Directorate (Delhi Zone) and the Delhi unit of the Customs Department for not producing their witnesses to help the trial court decide cases that have been pending for 15 to 20 years.

Turning to the Special Public Prosecutor for the Customs Department, Satish Aggarwal, Justice A.K. Sikri said: "Your position was worse." Mr. Justice Sikri made these observations while hearing a petition by an accused seeking quashing of the proceedings against him on the ground of delay.

Commenting on the style of functioning of the Directorate, Mr. Justice Sikri said: "If the proceedings continue at the current pace, it will take another 15 to 20 years for the Court to decide the cases."

"When the trial court quashes the proceedings in such a case due to non-production of your own witnesses, you blame it saying that the case pertains to serious economic offences," the Judge observed.

The Judge also pulled up the Enforcement Directorate and the Customs Department for wasting public money by not helping the Court in disposing of the pending cases speedily.

Admitting lapses on part of the Enforcement Directorate, its Director, Sudhir Nath, who was present in the Court, submitted that he had identified three factors -- delay in production of records, delay in production of witnesses for recording of their statements in time and ill-preparedness of the lawyers -- responsible for the pendency of the cases for such a long time.

He submitted that the Directorate had issued circulars asking the officers concerned to ensure that the documents were produced as and when they were required; the witnesses were brought to the court in time and the lawyers appeared in the court all-prepared.

He also informed the Court that the Directorate had chalked out a scheme to withdraw prosecution with certain conditions in the cases where the amount of foreign currencies involved was less than Rs.2 lakhs. Pointing to a 77-year-old man present in the Court, Mr. Justice Sikri told Mr. Nath that the Directorate was prosecuting this fellow for the past 20 years.

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