Achi news desk-
GUWAHATI: The Bombay high court on Monday expressed concern over the Enforcement Directorate’s practice of recording statements of witnesses and accused at unusual hours, noting that it could lead to sleep deprivation for people involved. This observation came during the hearing in the case of Ram Israni v. The Enforcement Directorate and Ors.
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According to reports, a bench comprising Chief Justices Mohita Dera and Manjusha Deshpande directed the central agency to issue a circular or guidelines specifying appropriate timing for recording statements while issuing summons for investigation.
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“Recording a statement, at unearthly hours, definitely causes a person to be deprived of sleep, a basic human right of a person. We disapprove of this practice. Therefore, we consider it appropriate to order the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue a circular/instructions, regarding the timing, for the recording of statements, when issuing an invitation according to Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA),” the court observed.
The court reiterated that an investigation by ED officers stood on a different footing than an investigation under the Criminal Procedure Code as it was considered a judicial proceeding. Given this, the recording of statements was required to occur during ‘Earth hours’. “A person subpoenaed according to Article 50 of the MLA, must necessarily record his statement in Earth time, since the investigating agency has not yet reached “reason to believe”. Because the aforementioned is guilty of an offense punishable under this law."
The remarks were made in a petition filed by a 64-year-old businessman, Ram Israni, who accused the ED of illegally arresting him in an alleged bank fraud case. He also claimed that on August 7 and 8 of last year he was required to wait at the Office of the Public Prosecutor, after which his message was recorded between 10:30 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. He claimed that he was kept awake for a total of 20 hours and presented as an arrest at 5:30 a.m. on August 8. The court did not find justice in his appeal against the detention, however, it strongly rejected the way in which Israni was kept overnight for the purpose of recording his statement, even if it was with his consent.
“The right to sleep” / “the right to blink” is a basic human demand, since, not providing it, violates a person’s human rights. It affects a person’s health, and may damage his mental abilities, cognitive skills, etc. It is not possible to deprive the aforementioned person, who has been summoned in this way, of his basic human right, that is, his right to sleep, by the agency, beyond a reasonable time. Statements must necessarily be recorded during normal hours and not at night when one’s cognitive abilities are impaired,” the order reads. Israni’s petition was dismissed. However, the court listed the matter on September 9 to record compliance with its instructions to the ED.
