“Inappropriate”: Rajasthan HC To ED On Summoning Congress Candidate Amidst Poll Campaign (image: X/ Mewaram Jain)
The Rajasthan High Court reportedly criticized the Enforcement Directorate action to summon Mewaram Jain, the Congress candidate, amidst the poll campaign, in connection with a sextortion case filed against him. As reported by the Live Law, the court said the ED move as not “appropriate”.
The court traced two reason to substantiate its criticism on the investigation agency as: 1) Mewaram Jain is a candidate for the Rajasthan Assembly Elections, where polling is scheduled for November 25, and the Congress leader is amidst the poll campaigns, 2) The ED asked Mewaram Jain to summon at Jaipur, which is at least 500 km away from his constituency Barmer.
It was on Wednesday, the Zonal Unit of ED in Jaipur issued summons to Mewaram Jain in connection with the probe of money laundering in a sextortion case filed by the Rajasthan Police. Mewaram Jain is a Congress leader and three-time MLA from Barmer, and the ED move is crucial since the state is facing a tough battle with their arch-rivals, the BJP, in the upcoming assembly elections. He was asked to appear before ED on Wednesday and was not ready to provide any relaxation considering the elections.
The court in an official statement said that the petitioner is a candidate in the upcoming State Legislative Assembly Elections, 2023, in which the polling is to be held on November 25, Saturday. The court understood the inevitability of Mewaram Jain’s presence in the constituency and added that “it would not be feasible for him to travel 500 kms”, while being busy with the campaigning.
The statement also questioned the purpose of the summons and in what capacity the MLA has been summoned. The judiciary also upheld Mr Jain’s right to canvas the voters ahead of the elections, as it is inevitable in a democratic setup. The court also suggested ED to delay their demand at least to seven days, since it would not “result any adverse impacts on the proceedings”.
