NEW DELHI: After expressing reservations, SC Friday sought news portal NewsClick’s response to ED’s appeal challenging a Delhi HC order quashing an ECIR under PMLA against the online media outlet purportedly based only on the contentions of the accused while disregarding the unimpeachable evidence produced by ED.Though a bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana was not happy with the way the ED indirectly cast aspersions on HC, it asked the portal to file its response within four weeks.For NewsClick, senior advocate Siddharth Agarwal wondered what exactly the portal would respond to when HC had already quashed the FIR registered by CBI for the predicate offence, based on which the ECIR was lodged by ED.
Referring to the more than five months for which HC kept its judgement reserved prior to pronouncing it on May 29, ED said, “…it appears that due to lapse of such period in pronouncing the judgement, several critical contentions raised by the prosecution were overlooked or left unaddressed by HC.”ED said, “Donations to the tune of Rs 76 crore were received from JEF US… for… export of services, when in reality, no real export of services ever took place and the aforesaid device was created to overcome the legal bar under FCRA.”