Mon Mar 31 06:39:09 UTC 2025: ## Tamil Nadu Challenges ED Raids on TASMAC Headquarters

**Chennai, April 1, 2025** – The Tamil Nadu government is escalating its legal challenge against the Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s raid on the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) headquarters earlier this month. The government has amended its writ petition before the Madras High Court, arguing that the ED’s actions were illegal and unconstitutional.

The ED conducted a search and seizure operation at the TASMAC headquarters from March 6th to 8th. In response, the Tamil Nadu government and TASMAC filed separate writ petitions, seeking to declare the raid illegal and prevent further harassment of its staff.

The government’s amended petition now seeks a court interpretation of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002, specifically the definition of “person.” They contend that the term does not encompass government authorities or officers, limiting the ED’s power to compel their assistance. The petition further requests the court to mandate that the ED only request assistance from state officials under Section 54 of the PMLA (obligation to assist in an inquiry), not under sections pertaining to search and seizure or summoning individuals. The government also seeks to bar the ED from conducting searches on any Tamil Nadu government premises, including state-owned corporations.

A Chennai activist, S. Muralidharan, has also filed a petition to become a party to the proceedings and oppose the government and TASMAC’s petitions. The various petitions will be heard by a Division Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and K. Rajasekar on April 1st. A previous bench recused itself from the case following a preliminary hearing on March 20th after questioning the scope of the initial government petition. The outcome of this hearing will significantly impact the ongoing legal battle between the Tamil Nadu government and the ED.

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