Supreme Court Criticizes Enforcement Directorate for Overstepping in Tamil Nadu Liquor Shop Raids. The Supreme Court of India. On Thursday, the Supreme Court slammed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for “crossing all limits” and totally “violating the federal structure of the Constitution.” The top court has told the federal agency to stand down. The ED gave accusations of corruption in the grant of shop licenses as the reason for the raids. To know more about the topic, “Supreme Court Criticizes Enforcement Directorate for Overstepping in Tamil Nadu Liquor Shop Raids, read the complete article.
Supreme Court Criticizes Enforcement Directorate for Overstepping in Tamil Nadu Liquor Shop Raids
While halting further action in the money laundering case, the Supreme Court criticized the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for raiding the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) headquarters, stating that the Central agency is “crossing all limits.” The court was considering a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by TASMAC, which disagreed with a Madras High Court order from April 23. That order has thrown out three writ petitions filed by the Tamil Nadu government and TASMAC, which sought to declare as illegal a search and seizure operation conducted by the ED at TASMAC’s Chennai headquarters from March 6 to 8, 2025, as part of a probe into money laundering.
A division bench consisting of Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih hauled up the agency for its raids at the headquarters of Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC). The bench noticed that the Enforcement Directorate is not following the federal concept of governance. Moreover, adding that the ED probe will not move forward against the state-run TASMAC in the meantime. Countering the court, the law officers said that the issues included corruption of over Rs 1000 crore and hence the ED is not crossing any boundaries, at least in this particular case, reported PTI.
Along with the supposed inconsistencies were excessive surcharges of ₹10-₹30 per liquor bottle and biased allocation of bar and transport licenses that reportedly favored particular distilleries. However, Tamil Nadu Excise Minister S. Muthusamy hit back, claiming the ED of harassment and political vendetta, asserting that no substantial proof had been found. The raids and allegations have heightened political tensions ahead of next year’s Assembly elections, with the BJP’s former state unit chief K. Annamalai launching a scathing attack on DMK minister V. Senthil Balaji.
TASMAC Row
ED conducted extensive searches last week and interrogated IAS officers S. Visakan, the managing director of Tasmac, in connection with suspected financial irregularities. The investigation began at 6 am with raids at his Manapakkam residence and multiple locations across Chennai. ED officials, accompanied by CRPF personnel, carried out searches at various premises in Besant Nagar, Choolaimedu, Anna Salai, Teyampet, and T Nagar, targeting both residences and business establishments. Film producer Akash Baskaran’s house in Teynampet was also searched, though ED did not disclose the connection to the investigation.
Following an eight-hour search at his home, ED officials took Visakan and his wife to their Nungambakkam office for inquiry. Visakan was returned to his Manapakkam residence around 9 pm, where interrogation continued. The investigation was started under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), based on FIRs registered by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) between 2016 and 2021. During this period, Visakan was detained at the Tasmac office for approximately two days.
Tasmac’s legal attempt to challenge the ED searches was unsuccessful, with the Madras High Court rejecting their plea to declare the searches illegal.
‘Political Vendetta’: Minister
After this, tamil Nadu Excise Minister S. Muthusamy launched a counterattack, claiming the ED was harassing state government officials. He blamed the agency of a ‘political vendetta’ and said searches of TASMAC’s offices, in Chennai and elsewhere, have ‘ulterior political motives.’ He highlighted the ED had found no proof to substantiate the alleged irregularities and said Chief Minister MK Stalin’s government strongly supports all state officials at all times.
The ‘political vendetta’ reference was to claims by the opposition that the BJP uses federal agencies to target opposing political leaders and parties, especially before a major election. The supposed TASMAC liquor scam has erupted just as the ruling DMK and the primary opposition, the AIADMK (and its on-again, off-again ally, the BJP), prep for next year’s Assembly poll.
