ED v West Bengal & Mamata Banerjee Over IPAC Raid : Live Updates From Supreme Court

Divan: if we allow ED to sue it will have to be extended to various other prosecutorial and investigating agencies which doesn't appear to be the constitutional scheme.

What is a directorate? In Black's law dictionary there is one useful definition in the context of Government and the second definition is a governmental division.

Matter resumes.

Divan: ED cannot maintain Article 32, cannot maintain Article 226, cannot maintain Article 227, cannot file a suit. it's not as if there is no remedy in this situation. The Union of India can sue. That comes from Article 300.

Divan: I am not at all saying that the central government does not have a right to sue. It may certainly come forward and so. Then it will be exam and then the secondary questions will come.

Divan: but it will have to be the central government. It cannot be that some department or CID or NCB files a petition.

Matter to continue after lunch.

Divan: ED cannot sue under Article 226 it cannot sue under Article 32. It could be perhaps the central government which comes forward in the manner prescribed under the constitution. That is according to us a matter for consideration and deliberation under article 145.

Divan: as far as ED is concerned according to me the it cannot also maintain article 226 petition because it has no right to sue and it is not a juristic entity.

J Mishra: then there is no remedy. They should not be a vacuum.

Divan: There is a remedy. That is a very compiling reason that this issue should be determined by a panel under Article 145.

J Mishra: because in this case according to them the Chief Minister barged into some government office controlled by the Central Government if 226 is also not maintainable 32 is also not maintainable than who will decide? Someday some other Chief Minister may enter into some other office...

J Mishra: whether in a situation like this ED which is not a body corporate according to you can move under article 226?

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal for WB: that question is pending in this court.

Divan: no you are not ships ife that certain types of rights under Part 3 can be exercised against private entity. As far is Article 32 is concerned, there is no determinative finding. But it's all the question of essentially being against the state.

Divan: if a citizen sues the central government as the state, can the central government say that I am not responsible as the power is being exercised by one department of mine? No the central government can't say that. Because that department is nothing but a part of the central government.

Divan: Part 3 of the Constitution is to safeguard the rights of citizenry as well as persons. And corporate and juristic entities are also entitled to protection. But the question is, against whom? As far as part 3 is concerned it is against the state.

Divan reads Article 32: The right to constructional remedies.

Divan: remedies for enforcement of rights conferred by this Part

J Mishra (in lighter vein): it is probably they have picked up this enforcement in Article 32 as the Enforcement Directorate.