SC to Hear Tamil Nadu’s Plea Against ED in Tasmac Case

The Tamil Nadu government has approached the Supreme Court seeking a stay on Enforcement Directorate (ED) operations linked to a major corruption investigation into the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac). The plea challenges the recent ruling by the Madras High Court, which upheld the ED’s authority to conduct raids as part of its money laundering probe. The Supreme Court is expected to take up the matter within the next few days, according to a senior registry official.

Supreme Court

The state’s appeal comes in the wake of a series of high-profile raids by the ED between April 6 and 8. These raids targeted multiple locations, including Tasmac's headquarters, over suspicions of financial misappropriation amounting to around ₹1,000 crore. The Madras High Court had earlier dismissed petitions by the state and Tasmac management that sought to halt these actions.

A division bench of the High Court, comprising Justices S.M. Subramaniam and K. Rajasekar, observed that the complaints and allegations surrounding Tasmac were "serious and substantial," requiring a more exhaustive investigation. The court also dismissed arguments that ED officials had harassed employees—particularly women—during the raids. It ruled that steps such as detaining staff late into the night may have been necessary to prevent tampering or destruction of key evidence.

Further, the court criticized the state for allegedly using women employees as a means to obstruct the investigation. It maintained that the constitutional right to privacy under Article 21 can be reasonably limited when national financial security is at stake.

The bench also declined to compel the ED to provide detailed “reasons to believe” prior to conducting searches, stating that such blanket demands could hinder investigations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

According to the ED, their actions were based on solid intelligence, backed by 41 FIRs registered by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) against several Tasmac officials. The agency claims that bottling units and breweries engaged in fraudulent practices to siphon off illicit funds, which were then funneled back as bribes to secure lucrative contracts with Tasmac.

Interestingly, this isn’t the state’s first attempt to intervene at the top court. Earlier, on April 4, the Tamil Nadu government filed a petition seeking to shift the matter to a different High Court outside the state. That plea was later withdrawn on April 8, leading the Madras High Court to criticize the state for bypassing its jurisdiction without prior disclosure.

Now, as the case reaches the Supreme Court, it is likely to have significant legal and political consequences in Tamil Nadu, where issues of federal authority, corruption, and investigative overreach remain hotly debated.