TASMAC Challenges ED Probe Stay in ₹21,000 Crore Scam Case
TASMAC, the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation, has challenged the Madras High Court's refusal to halt the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) probe into an alleged ₹21,000 crore scam. The Supreme Court has extended the stay on the ED's money laundering investigation pending a review of challenges to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai, has expressed concerns about the federal structure and the ED's encroachment on states' rights to investigate. TASMAC argued that the state's vigilance department had already filed 47 FIRs against liquor outlet operators for corruption from 2014 to 2021, prior to the ED's intervention in 2025. The bench has posted the matter for further hearing, bound by the Vijay Madanlal Choudhary judgment that an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) need not be supplied to the accused.
Kapil Sibal, representing TASMAC, questioned the ED's role in investigating corruption, stating it falls within the jurisdiction of the United States. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S V Raju, appearing for the ED, countered that they were only probing money laundering, not corruption, and had found evidence of it during the investigation.
The Supreme Court has extended the stay on the ED's money laundering probe against TASMAC until it passes an order on the pending review pleas challenging PMLA provisions. The next hearing is awaited to determine the fate of the ED's investigation into the alleged ₹21,000 crore scam.
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