Overview

• The bench of Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran extended the interim restraint on the Enforcement Directorate from any coercive steps against TASMAC, including search, seizure and investigation.
• The court granted leave to appeal to TASMAC and the Tamil Nadu government and posted the case to be taken up after the review of the 2022 Vijay Madanlal Choudhary judgment on PMLA procedures.
• Chief Justice Gavai pressed the ED on federalism, asking whether its probe encroaches on the state's right to investigate and pointing to Section 66(2) on sharing information with state agencies.
• Counsel for TASMAC and the state cited 47 vigilance FIRs already filed and raised privacy concerns over the ED’s seizure and data extraction from officers’ mobile phones.
• The ED defended its actions under Section 17 of the PMLA and alleged a Rs 1,000‑crore laundering scheme involving tender manipulation and inflated expenses by distilleries and bottling entities.