Direct ED not to take coercive step against me:Virbhadra to HC

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today approached Delhi High Court seeking a direction to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) not to take any coercive step against him in the wake of the arrest of an LIC agent in an alleged money laundering case.
The plea came up for hearing before Justice A K Pathak who recused from hearing the matter and listed it for July 19 before another bench.
In his plea, Singh said he apprehended that the ED might arrest him on the basis of alleged disclosure statement of insurance agent Anand Chauhan, who was recently arrested from Chandigarh in connection with the case.

Chauhan, currently in judicial custody, was arrested by the ED under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as he was allegedly not cooperating with the investigating officer of the case.
The probe agency had alleged that Singh, while serving as Union Steel Minister, had invested huge amounts in purchasing LIC policies in his and his family members' names through Chauhan.
Singh's separate plea seeking quashing of the money laundering proceedings was also pending before the high court and would come up for further hearing on July 29.

ED had earlier termed as "premature" the plea filed by Singh and others seeking quashing of the money laundering proceedings.

It had said the plea seeking stay on the proceedings was "not maintainable" as the inquiry into the matter was in a preliminary stage.
ED had last year lodged a money laundering case against Singh and others under the PMLA after taking cognisance of a criminal complaint filed by CBI in this regard.
CBI had lodged a separate disproportionate assets case against Singh and others alleging that he and his family members had amassed wealth of Rs 6.1 crore between 2009 and 2011 disproportionate to the known sources of income.
During the hearing today, Sibal also asked how CBI could

register a PE without taking any consent of the state.
"This means the CBI will start conducting a PE without anybody's consent. They should have reported the information received by them to the concerned authority in the state," he said.
"Court has to look at the ramification of this probe. They (CBI) can keep on doing the investigation....My (Virbhadra's) political career may be finished," Sibal said.
To this, the court observed "history has shown that no politician has been indicted due to prosecution."
Sibal responded saying, "I (Virbhadra) am not saying that I am immune. What prevents the state from investigating me? This is not a case of corruption."

The matter, in which Himachal Pradesh HC had passed the interim order, was transferred by the Supreme Court to the Delhi High Court, but the interim order has not yet been vacated or stayed.
The Delhi High Court on April 6 this year had directed CBI not to arrest Singh while asking him to join the probe.
The direction had come when the court was disposing of CBI's application seeking vacation of the Himachal Pradesh High Court order, which, the agency claimed, had "seriously held up" its investigation in the case.
On November 5 last year, the apex court had transferred Singh's plea from Himachal Pradesh HC to Delhi HC, saying it was not expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, but "simply" transferring the petition "in interest of justice and to save the institution (judiciary) from any embarrassment".

CBI had moved the apex court seeking transfer of the case to Delhi High Court and setting aside the interim order granting protection from arrest and other relief granted to Singh.
A DA case was lodged against the Chief Minister and others by CBI under sections 13(2) and 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and section 109 (punishment for abetment) of IPC.