The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday issued a new circular directing its investigators not to strictly summon persons involved in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for questioning at “supernatural” times, or make them wait longer at the office.

The new circular from the National Investigation Agency comes after the technical circular was issued last Friday, October 11, following the directives of the Bombay High Court which allowed the petition of a person who was summoned by the ‘ED and “detained overnight and interrogated”. The circular was, however, not accessible to the public.

“Article 21: Right to sleep”

The Bombay High Court has ruled that petitioner Ram Issrani, 64, was called to the ED office for questioning and was kept waiting till midnight. Taking note of the case, the HC issued a directive in April 2024, emphasizing the importance of respecting the ‘right to sleep’ of those under investigation in the PMLA case, the agency reported legal press Bar and Bench.

“ED will put paragraph 18…”

On October 14, a bench comprising Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice Prithviraj K Chavan noted that ED’s circular was only shared internally and was not publicly available. Therefore, he directed the federal agency to make the relevant paragraphs of the circular available on the ED’s website and account on social media platform X.

“Since the ED issued a circular dated October 11, 2024, the judgment dated April 15, 2024 stands. Needless to say, the ED must publish paragraph 18 of the said circular on its website as well as on its account Twitter,’ the Bombay HC order reads, mentions a Bar and Bench report.

“Conclude the same day or postpone…”

The Bombay High Court further fixed stipulated timings for the investigating officers (IOs), depending on the seriousness of the case. Considering a scenario where a person can destroy digital evidence in a short time using online tools or mobile phones, the Bombay HC said that IOs “will endeavor to conclude the interrogation of the person convened as soon as possible, ideally the same day or the next day.

For senior citizens, investigations should be “restricted” to earthly hours, or “adjourn the examination” to a mutually decided future date, the Bombay High Court has said, PTI reported.