Summons sent to lawyer for his role as co's ind dir: ED

NEW DELHI: Faced with criticism, Enforcement Directorate Friday said it issued summons to senior advocate Pratap Venugopal as part of its ongoing investigation against Care Health Insurance Ltd (CHIL) in which Venugopal was an independent director. ED's Mumbai zonal office is conducting a money laundering investigation in which it has been alleged that shares of CHIL were issued at a much lower price in the form of ESOPs on May 1, 2022, in spite of the rejection of the same by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI)."As part of the investigation, summons was issued to Pratap Venugopal, an independent director of CHIL, to understand the circumstances under which the company has issued ESOPs despite its rejection by IRDAI and subsequent discussions in the board of CHIL in this regard," the agency said about the summons which it withdrew after protests by lawyers' bodies.In a statement, the agency emphasised that IRDAI on July 23, 2024, had directed CHIL to revoke or cancel any ESOPs that were yet to be allotted and had also imposed a penalty of Rs 1 crore on CHIL for non-compliance with regulatory directions."In view of the fact that Pratap Venugopal is a senior advocate in Supreme Court, the summons issued to him has been withdrawn and the same has been communicated to him," the agency said.

In the said communication, it was also stated that if any documents were required from him in his capacity as an independent director of CHIL, the same would be requested to be submitted by email, the agency added.Further, ED has asked its units not to issue summons to lawyers, saying summoning them would be violative of Section 132 of Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023. "If any summons needs to be issued under the exceptions carved out in proviso to Section 132 of Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, the same shall be issued only with the prior approval of the director, ED," the agency said.