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DIRECTORATE OF ENFORCEMENT (ED)
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has probed 121 notable politicians since 2014 and has detained, interrogated, searched, or filed FIRs against 115 significant Opposition leaders.
Enforcement of economic laws and the pursuit of economic crime in India are the responsibilities of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), a law enforcement and economic intelligence organisation.
It is a component of the Ministry of Finance's Department of Revenue.
Sanjay Kumar Mishra, the ED's current Director (since 2018), and Karnal Singh, his predecessor (from 2015 to 18), have both used the vast powers granted to the organisation by the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, to drive the agency's aggressiveness.
The PMLA, in contrast to regulations controlling other agencies, most notably the CBI, permits the ED to take cognizance of any offence listed on its extensive schedule nationwide, with or without the approval of state governments.
Although the National Investigation Agency (NIA) also has the authority to take suo motu cognizance of crimes across the nation, the NIA Act's schedule, or the set of crimes that the agency is allowed to look into, is only about a dozen in number.
On the other hand, the number of offences included in the PMLA schedule has grown from just six in 2002, when the law was passed, to 30 groupings of offences including over 147 provisions today.
The expansive purview of the ED encompasses everything from copyright infringement to bogus trademarks, as well as severe offences like terrorism and the poaching of wild animals.
Source: Indian Express