The Congress Monday questioned the Enforcement Directorate’s summoning of Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge during Parliament session and said that it was done with the sole purpose of harassing LoP and the Congress party.
“Kharge is not even an accused in the AJL case," Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said.
"As already stated, LoP isn't an accused in the National Herald case. LoP also assured that he would extend the fullest cooperation and would meet when Parliament is not in session. The summons were issued by the ED for the sole purpose of conducting a search of the office premises of YIL in the National Herald building and recording a statement to that effect. This exercise could very well have been conducted in the presence of counsel authorised by LoP for the purpose. ED did not accede to this request and insisted on his presence. This was done with the sole purpose of harassing LoP and the Congress party," Ramesh added.
The Congress leader further said, “The House has a right to be informed as to why a Member is not able to attend a sitting of the concerned House, the reason being no obstruction is caused to a Member of Parliament in performance of his/her Parliamentary duties unless and until there are sufficient reasons, meaning thereby their detention under a criminal case.”
On August 3, a summons was sent to Kharge through an email by the Enforcement Directorate requiring his presence at the office of Young India Limited (YIL) in the National Herald building. In response, LOP sent an email to the concerned Investigating Officer of ED that as “Parliament session is urgently underway and (he) being the Leader of Opposition, has prior commitments in the ongoing session and accordingly... our authorised representative is in Delhi and will appear before your goodself at 10:30 am on 04/08/2022. I am happy to meet you on any day when Parliament is not in session. I assure you of my fullest cooperation in your ongoing investigation.”
"This request was not acceded to by the Enforcement Directorate and it was insisted upon that his presence was necessary at the National Herald building at 12:30 hrs that day. LOP apprised the House about this development and stated that while abiding by the laws of the land, he would be going to the National Herald building but pointed out that it was not appropriate on the part of the ED to “summon” him while the session is on," Ramesh added.
He further said, "Thereafter, LOP went to the National Herald building. The office of the YIL located in the National Herald building which was sealed by ED on August 3, 2022, was opened in his presence. As it transpired, the officials of the ED required LOP’s presence to conduct the search and record his statement in this regard. LOP was on the premises of the YIL office from 1 PM till 8:20 PM that day, during which first the search was conducted and thereafter his statement was recorded. So the entire process took 8 and a half hours."
"On August 5, 2022, an observation was made by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha, the thrust of which was that Parliamentary privileges are not available in criminal cases. Here it is to be noted that there is no dispute whatsoever on the well-established position that privileges are not available in criminal cases, which was upheld by the Supreme Court in K Ananda Nambiar and R Umanath vs Chief Secretary to Govt of Madras (AIR 1966 SC 657)."
"The point of contention is not on this aspect. In the National Herald case, firstly, LOP is not the accused. Furthermore, on August 4, 2022, the ED “summoned” him requiring his invariable presence at the premises of YIL for the purpose of conducting a search in his presence and recording his statement."
"In this context, attention is also drawn to Rule 229 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha and Rule 222A of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha), provisions of which require that whenever a Member of Parliament is arrested on a criminal charge or for a criminal offence or is sentenced to imprisonment by a court or is detained under an executive order, the committing judge, magistrate or executive authority, an intimation in this regard has to be immediately sent to Speaker Lok Sabha or Chairman Rajya Sabha as the case may be. The legislative intent behind these provisions is that the House has a right to be informed as to why a Member is not able to attend sitting of the concerned House, the reason being no obstruction is caused to a Member of Parliament in the performance of his/her Parliamentary duties unless and until there are sufficient reasons, meaning thereby their detention under a criminal case."