Only 2 convictions in 193 ED cases against political leaders since 2015: Centre reveals

The Ministry of Finance and Revenue recently informed Parliament that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered 193 cases over the past 10 years against current and former MPs, MLAs, MLCs, political leaders and individuals affiliated with political parties..The Ministry further added that only two convictions have been secured in the past 10 years.The information was provided by Minister of State in Finance Ministry Pankaj Chaudhary in response to a query raised by Member of Parliament (MP) from Kerala, AA Rahim.Rahim asked the following questions:- Number of ED cases filed against MPs, MLAs, and local administration members in the last 10 years, categorized by party, state and year;- Year-wise data on convictions, acquittals and pending investigations;- Inquiry into the rise in cases against opposition leaders and justification for the trend;- Government reforms to enhance transparency and efficiency in ED investigations..Responding to the first question, the Minister of State (Ministry of Finance) Pankaj Chaudhary stated that the data of ED cases registered against MPs, MLAs and local administrators along with their party, state-wise is not maintained. However, he provided the year-wise details of cases against existing and ex MPs, MLAs, MLCs and political leaders or anyone affiliated with any political party during the last 10 years.The maximum number of cases were registered during the period from April 2022 to March 2023. 32 cases were registered during that period.He further informed that out of these 193 cases registered in the last 10 years, only two resulted in convictions while there have been no acquittals yet. .In response to the question regarding a possible increase in ED cases against opposition leaders in recent years and the justification for this trend, the minister stated that no such data is maintained.To the fourth question, the reply said that ED takes up cases for investigation only based on credible evidence/ material and does not distinguish cases based on political affiliations, religion or otherwise. Further, the actions of ED are always open to judicial review, it was stated..[Read Response by Minister]