IMPORTANT POINT
The Court emphasized that the petitioner's apprehension of arrest was premature and that the prayer for quashing the ECIR was premature and without merit. The Court also highlighted that the petitioner's petition essentially reduced the proceedings to the nature of anticipatory bails, which was not acceptable.

JUDGMENT

Swarana Kanta Sharma, J.

1. By way of present writ petition filed under Article 226 of Constitution of India read with Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (`Cr.P.C.`), the petitioner seeks grant of following reliefs:

"i. Issue a Writ of Certiorari of any Writ, Order or Direction of like nature directing the calling of records in relation to ECIR No. 31/2022 and direct quashing of the proceedings against the Petitioner in the impugned ECIR as an accused; and/or

ii. Issue a Writ of Prohibition of any Writ, Order or Direction of like nature restraining the Respondent from taking any coercive action against the Petitioner in respect of the ECIR No. 31/2022 including conducting further investigation & quashing summon dated 06.10.2023 qua the Petitioner; and/or

iii. Issue a Writ of Declaration of any Writ, Order or Direction for quashing of the Enforcement Directorate case against the petitioner qua ECIR No. 31/2022 by quashing the impugned ECIR, summon dated 06.10.2023 and all the proceedings emanating therefrom; and

iv. Pass any other order or directions that this Hon`ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case in favor of the petitioner.

THE CASE OF PETITIONER

2. The background facts, as disclosed in the petition, are that the family of petitioner owns Krrish group of companies and has been in business of Breweries and Distilleries since the year 1983, and in the real estate business also since 2008. It is stated that the company namely M/s Iceberg Industries Ltd. (previously known as Iceberg Consultants Limited) was incorporated in the year 1994 and the petitioner had become its whole-time director from the date of its incorporation. The said company, for the purpose of setting up a Distillery and Brewery plant had purchased a land of approximately 12 acres in Bihta, Bihar and the petitioner had then set up a plant for Distillery in Bihar under the company M/s Iceberg Industries Ltd. It is stated that since the petitioner`s distillery was operating in Bihar, the petitioner had started purchasing small chunks of lands/plots in Bihar for the purpose of expansion or storage, in the name of several companies such as M/s In-Shape Health & Resorts Pvt. Ltd., M/s Iceberg Hotel & Resorts Ltd., and M/s AK Infosystem Pvt. Ltd. during the years 2006-2011. It is stated that one of the properties ad-measuring 9527 sq. ft. purchased by M/s AK Infosystem Pvt. Ltd. in the year 2007, situated in Rupaspur, Danapur, Patna, Bihar, was purchased for a sale consideration of Rs.10,83,000/-, paid in cash and the owner of the said land Sh. Hazari Rai was relative of one of the recruits in Group-D in Railway Department.

3. It is stated that the distillery at Bihar owned by M/s Iceberg Industries Ltd. was sold to American Beer company namely M/s Molson Coors International. It is stated that after selling the brewery, the petitioner was in a process to wind up his business and properties in Bihar. It is stated that M/s Iceberg Industries Ltd. was also sold to M/s Molson Coors International by means of transfer of complete shareholding. Later, the petitioner had also resigned from the Directorship of M/s Iceberg Industries Ltd. and had completely exited the company. It is submitted that the company M/s AK Infosystem Pvt. Ltd. was sold to Smt. Rabri Devi and Sh. Tej Partap Yadav (family members of Sh. Lalu Prasad Yadav) by means of transfer of complete shareholding, and later, the petitioner had also resigned from the Directorship of the said company and had completely exited the company. It is stated that the petitioner had received complete money with respect to sale conducted for his company from family of Sh. Lalu Prasad Yadav in 2017. In this regard, it is also stated that when the company was transferred to the family members of Sh. Lalu Prasad Yadav, he or his family were not holding any portfolio in the government, thus, there was no embargo in selling the company to them.

4. It is stated that Central B