Bombay High Court Asks Enforcement Directorate To Not Insist On Appearance Of 'Lawyers Collective' & Anand Grover Till Dec 14

Yesterday, a bench of Justices SS Shinde and MS Karnik had asked the Assistant Solicitor General to get instructions on whether the ED summons can be deferred having regard to the fact that Senior Advocates Indira Jaising(another founder-trustee of the NGO) and Grover had just recovered from COVID-19.

"We have to respect humanity. We have to respect their age as well", Justice Shinde, the presiding judge, had orally remarked.

On Wednesday, ASG Anil Singh submitted before the bench that the ED will not insist on the petitioners' appearance tomorrow. However, the ASG urged the bench not to record his statement.

The lawyers of the petitioners - Senior Advocates Amit Desai, Aspi Chinoy and Siddharth Luthra - insisted that the statement must be recorded.

"The department may not be generous as the Asst Solicitor General', Amit Desai submitted.

"There is no question of passing any order or recording any statement when I am saying this. Your lordships must trust me. My learned friends must trust me", ASG Anil Singh insisted.

"It is not a question of trust. The statement made in the open court needs to be recorded.This is a question of personal liberty", Senior Advocate Aspi Chinoy submitted.

The senior lawyers on behalf of the petitioners submitted that failure to comply with the summons will lead to penal consequences under the PMLA Act.

Ultimately, the bench passed the interim order restraining ED from insisting on the personal appearance of petitioners till the next date of hearing.