TN-ED faceoff

DELIVERING a lecture last year on the role and responsibilities of Central investigative agencies, then Chief Justice of India NV Ramana said the need of the hour was to reclaim social legitimacy and public trust. An independent umbrella institution, he stressed, would end the multiplicity of proceedings, and more importantly, save the probe agencies from being dubbed as tools of political harassment. For him, the first — and rather ambitious — step was to break their nexus with the executive. Political interference and the erosion of institutional credibility are at the core of the escalating confrontation between the Tamil Nadu government and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The political debate sparked by the arrest of an ED officer in the state is on familiar lines — the Opposition parties are accusing the Centre of misusing probe agencies to target opponents.

After the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) arrested the officer while he was allegedly accepting a bribe to settle cases, the Madurai police booked several ED officials. They were charged with preventing state officials from discharging their duties. The ED, on its part, sought an FIR against state vigilance officials for alleged trespass and taking away sensitive case files. After initiating separate investigations, the Central agency has reportedly shifted its probe against the officer as well as DVAC officials to New Delhi. The decision was apparently prompted by the prospect of meddling by the state police.

The unsavoury controversy, which has set a wrong precedent, needs to be resolved urgently. The credibility of Central and state agencies has taken a hit. Both face charges of being reduced to puppets of their political bosses. Lost in the din are the issues of corruption and ensuring a free and fair investigation.

#NV Ramana