Overview
- The petitions challenge a Kerala High Court ruling that treated the Enforcement Directorate as a statutory authority entitled to file writ petitions.
- The Supreme Court will consider whether the Directorate of Enforcement qualifies as a juristic person with capacity to sue or be sued.
- Kerala argues an ED officer lacks independent legal personality to maintain a writ and cites the Chief Conservator of Forests precedent.
- Tamil Nadu supports Kerala and accuses the agency of misusing High Court writ jurisdiction, pointing to a case tied to alleged illegal mining.
- The dispute arose from ED’s challenge to a state-appointed inquiry into alleged coercion claims linked to the 2020 Kerala gold-smuggling probe.