CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu govt has decided to withdraw its appeal in the Supreme Court against inspections by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at Tasmac headquarters, multiple sources have told TOI.“Tamil Nadu govt has decided to withdraw the appeal as the ED report talks about party funds. The govt wants the investigation to go on. The govt and Tasmac will withdraw the appeal in the next few days. Paperwork is underway,” said a senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity.On Friday, govt sources said Tasmac had been informed about the decision to withdraw the special leave petition and directed to take similar action on its petition. The withdrawal petitions will be filed before vacation benches, as SC is on its six-week summer recess, which began on June 1 and will end on July 12. Regular court proceedings will resume on July 13. “It all depends on when the petition is taken up,” said another official.In May last year, a bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih stayed the money laundering probe against Tasmac, the state-run liquor retailer. The apex court had criticized the enforcement agency, saying its action was “crossing all limits” and that it violated the federal concept.ED officials had conducted searches at Tasmac headquarters and connected locations for two days from March 6 last year. The enforcement agency had argued that multiple FIRs registered by the DVAC involved offences such as collection of amounts above the actual maximum retail price, kickbacks allegedly paid by distillery companies to Tasmac officials for supply orders, and bribes allegedly collected by senior officials from retail outlets and for transfers and postings of staff.The agency alleged that distilleries had systematically inflated expenses and fabricated bogus purchases to siphon off more than ₹1,000 crore in unaccounted cash.
