The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice on the Enforcement Directorate’s plea seeking cancellation of bail granted to alleged coal scam kingpin Anup Majee in the ₹2700-crore illegal coal mining case. A Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta observed that the trial court may be directed to conclude proceedings expeditiously.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday heard the Enforcement Directorate’s plea seeking cancellation of bail granted to alleged coal mining scam accused Anup Majee in the ₹2700-crore illegal coal mining case. A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta indicated that it may direct the trial court to conclude proceedings expeditiously while issuing notice in the matter.
Appearing for the ED, Additional Solicitor General S. V. Raju argued that Majee was the “main person” and “kingpin” in the alleged plunder of national resources, claiming he had absconded and initially failed to cooperate with investigators.
Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Majee, countered that his client had appeared before authorities multiple times and that custodial interrogation was no longer necessary. Mr Dave also remarked that the issue would become “infructuous after the elections,” prompting the Bench to quip, “You predicted the results before the votes were cast?”
Background of the case
Anup Majee alias “Lala” is booked by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the alleged ₹2700-crore illegal coal mining and coal pilferage racket linked to Eastern Coalfields Limited areas in West Bengal. The ED alleges that Majee was a key operator in the syndicate involved in illegal excavation, transportation and sale of coal, with proceeds allegedly laundered through shell entities and hawala transactions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The Delhi High Court, while granting anticipatory bail to Majee, held that custodial interrogation was not necessary at that stage and noted that he had joined the investigation and met the conditions for bail, including no likelihood of absconding or tampering with evidence. The ED has challenged that relief before the Supreme Court, describing Majee as the “kingpin” of the alleged scam.
It was in relation to the Anul Manjee case that the ED conducted raids at I-PAC’s Kolkata office during the investigation. During the searches, then West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee allegedly entered the premises and objected to the raid, with the ED later claiming that certain documents and electronic devices were removed from the office during the operation.