The case relates to alleged illegal sand mining in five districts in Tamil Nadu.
The ED has been investigating the case since September last year and has alleged that illegal sand mining has caused a loss of up to ₹4,000 crore to the state exchequer.
Contractors K Govindaraj, Shanmugam Ramachandran and K Rethinam approached the Supreme Court seeking quashing of the ED proceedings on the grounds that the central agency had no jurisdiction to take action under PMLA.
They alleged that the FIRs, after which ED initiated proceedings, did not reveal any proceeds of crime and that a reading of the ECIR and the interim attachment orders would indicate that the central agency had taken up the role of investigating illegal sand mining in the absence of any FIR registered for a scheduled offense showing the generation of proceeds of crime.
The Supreme Court ruled in their favor, prompting ED to approach the apex court.