IN a letter written to the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on December 18, Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister of Kerala has asked the PM to intervene to stop the orchestrated campaigns by central investigating agencies in Kerala. In the name of investigations, he said, the central investigation agencies are doing roving and fishing expeditions which is tarnishing the image of these agencies. He said the plan of these agencies is to implicate the state government and halt the developmental processes in the state.

We reproduce the contents of the letter:
I invite your kind attention to my letter dated July 8, 2020, requesting an effective and coordinated investigation by central agencies concerned into the gold smuggling case detected at the Trivandrum International Airport by the Customs preventive unit in the last week of June, 2020. The request was made considering the fact that gold smuggling poses a substantial threat to the economic security of the nation.

The investigation started in July 2020 and some of the former employees of the UAE Consulate, Thiruvananthapuram, were arrayed as accused in the case filed by the Customs Department. When an officer of the Indian Administrative Service (lAS), belonging to Kerala cadre, working as principal secretary in the office of the chief minister of Kerala was reported to be having connections with the accused, he was asked by the government to proceed on leave immediately and subsequently placed under suspension.

The state government wanted the investigations to unravel the chain of events starting from the source of the gold smuggled to its end-use. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) also started an investigation on July 10, 2020, in addition to the enquiry by the Customs. Later, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) also entered the scene on July 13, 2020, and September 24, 2020, respectively.

The enquiry by the ED was initiated on the basis of the case registered by the NIA regard gold smuggling. But later, it turned towards commission and kickbacks paid by a contractor of a housing project at Vadakanchery, Thrissur district, to some of the accused in the gold smuggling case.

The above-mentioned housing project was funded by the UAE Red Crescent, a humanitarian and charitable organisation, which had offered to build 140 houses and a Women and Child Hospital, using their own funds and selecting the contractor of their choice. This housing project was conceived as a part of the LIFE (Livelihood Inclusion and Financial Empowerment) mission project, which has so far been successful in providing 2,50,000 secure houses to the marginalised sections of the society in the state. The LIFE Mission project is implemented with the active participation of local self-government (LSG) institutions. The cost per house is Rs 4 lakh. It includes the funding from Prime Minister's Awas Yojana, which is Rs 72,000 and Rs 1,50,000 in rural and urban areas respectively. The balance amount is provided by the state government and LSGs. It is noteworthy that there is no beneficiary share.

The CBI registered a ‘first information report’ (FIR) on September 24, 2020, based on a complaint filed by a member of Kerala legislative assembly belonging to the Indian National Congress on September 20, 2020. The FIR was filed with undue haste even without following the procedural formality of conducting a preliminary investigation. In the FIR 'unknown officials of the LIFE Mission' were arrayed as accused. No consent of the state government was sought before initiating the enquiry.

The offence alleged in the FIR relates to the violation of provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2010. The LIFE Mission had not accepted any foreign contribution. As already stated, UAE Red Crescent offered to build 140 houses and a Women and Child Hospital in Vadakkanchery in Thrissur district using their own funds and selecting contractor of their choice. An agreement was also entered into between UAE Consulate, Thiruvananthapuram and the contractors. The LIFE Mission had only conveyed that the specifications required to be followed as per its norms were adhered to. Beyond this, LIFE Mission has no direct role in the project.

The CBI displayed undue haste in implicating LIFE Mission for alleged violation of the provisions of FCRA, 2010. The Hon'ble High Court of Kerala in its interim order pronounced on October 13, 2020, in the 'criminal miscellaneous petition' filed by the chief executive officer (CEO), LIFE Mission, specifically mentioned that neither the facts on record nor provisions of FCRA, 2010, justifies mentioning LIFE Mission in the FIR, and granted interim stay for two months.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), while probing this case has crossed all limits and has issued summons to CEO, LIFE Mission for producing all records relating to all projects of the LIFE Mission. The summons was issued to the CEO, LIFE Mission on October 30, 2020, requiring him to produce all documents at 10 am on the very next day, October 31, 2020, which was a closed holiday. The requisition made by the assistant director, Kochi unit of the ED is extracted below:

"1. Details of all projects executed under LIFE Mission along with relevant documents.

2. Copies of tenders awarded/contracts awarded under LIFE Mission.

3. Details of expenses along with the amount received from them."

The requisition made in the summons clearly brings out the roving nature of the enquiry, which is against the principle adumbrated by the Hon'ble Supreme Court [Barium Chemicals and Another vs A J Rana Others, (1972 SCR (2) 752)] regarding the requisitioning of documents through summons. The apex court held that there should be specificity regarding the documents requisitioned through summons.

Besides, the ED has also called for all documents of Kerala government's projects like K-FON (a project to provide free internet to poorer sections of the society, in accordance with the state government's policy of providing access to the internet as basic right), Electric Vehicle policy, etc.

It is pertinent to note that there is a total lack of consistency in the approach of the investigating agencies as is evident from the fact that ED has shifted its stance regarding the source of money found in the bank locker of one of the accused. Initially, it was stated that it was proceeds from gold smuggling and later it was mentioned before the court that it was commission received from the contractor.

In a similar manner, a roving enquiry is being initiated in the case of Kerala Infrastructure Fund Board (KIFB), which is rendering substantial support to development projects in the state. The ED has reportedly written letter to the Reserve Bank of India seeking clarifications regarding permission granted for floating Masala Bonds.

From the facts and circumstances narrated above, it is clear that the central agencies are conducting fishing and roving enquiries to find out whether there is any chance to allege any offence in a situation where the agencies have not been able to find anything specific against the state government. All norms of fairness and propriety are being violated.

Instead of conducting an effective and coordinated enquiry into the gold smuggling case, the central agencies have been doing everything else. The statements given by accused/witnesses are being selectively leaked to electronic and print media. The information regarding the issuance of summons gets into the knowledge of the media even before the person addressed in the summons receives it.

Orchestrated campaigns to defame the political leadership of the government of Kerala are being carried out in a consistent manner seemingly with the cooperation of certain officials of the investigating agencies. This is evidenced by the news leaked out regarding alleged contents of a sworn statement recorded before a magistrate at the instance of the customs department. Similarly, contents of sworn statements given by witnesses before investigating agencies have also appeared in electronic and print media.

After five months, neither the source nor the end utilisation of gold, which has been smuggled has been unravelled. No headway has been made in apprehending the suspects who are abroad. Instead, the aim of the central agencies seems to be tarnishing the image of the state government.

In a co-operative federal set up, central investigating agencies will have to follow the contours of the constitutional division of powers. Any transgression of the same, by conducting roving enquiries and proceeding on fishing expeditions to review the projects of the state government with the intention of fault-finding is not within the province of the central investigating agencies.

Though the central investigating agencies have every right to marshal facts and seek to find the truth of the allegations, which they are enquiring into, travelling beyond this will rob these agencies of the impartiality and fairness they ought to have, and will result in their loss of credibility. This will have wider adverse ramifications.

To conclude, let me state that enquiries should do not become roving and fishing expeditions leading to a total loss of credibility of the central investigating agencies. Besides, this will also hamper the development activities of the state government being implemented through its flagship programmes by demotivating honest and hardworking officers, who will be gripped by fear psychosis. This is a serious governance issue for the state government and does not augur well in a democratic and federal polity.

I am bringing these facts to your kind attention for your intervention so that corrective steps are taken at least at this juncture.