CHENNAI: The state approached the Madras High Court challenging the summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against the 10 district collectors to investigate allegations of serious irregularities and malpractices in mining and sale of river sand in Tamil Nadu.

Advocate General R Shunmugasundaram appeared before a division bench comprising Justices SS Sundar and Sunder Mohan and submitted to hear the matter urgently. After the submission, the bench agreed to hear the matter on Monday (November 27).

The Public and Rehabilitation Department secretary, Water Resources Department secretary and district collectors of Karur, Tiruchy, Thanjavur, Ariyalur and Vellore moved the HC challenging the summon notices.

In the petitions, the district collectors raised serious issues as that why the ED exercised powers under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) only in certain states in respect of the alleged offenses under the Mines and Minerals Act, when no such action is initiated in other states, especially Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh in which thousands of PMLA cases are pending. The misuse of the authority and the process purportedly taken under the PMLA is to pressursize and thereby demoralize the state administration from discharging their functions and duties, read the petition.

The PMLA confers unguided and unchecked power to ED to interfere in any proceeding to a predicate offence in a state in a pick-and-choose approach, which violates the principles of federalism, said the petition. The actions of ED authority are arbitrary, without jurisdiction and violative of Article 14 and Article 21 of the Constitution, stated the petition.

The ED has investigated engineers of the Water Resources Department in connection to the procedure and sale of sand illegally mined. After conducting surprise checks at various sand quarry sites on September 12, the ED has summoned 10 district collectors including the petitioners for probe.