New Delhi, 20 January (H.S.): The Supreme Court will examine whether the Enforcement Directorate (ED) can file petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution, issuing notice to the agency on Tuesday on a plea by the Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments.

A bench led by Justice Dipankar Datta heard the states' challenge to a Kerala High Court order upholding ED's right to invoke Article 226, which empowers high courts to issue writs.

Background of the Dispute

The Kerala High Court's Division Bench endorsed a single judge's order on September 26, 2025, staying a judicial probe into 2020 gold smuggling allegations. That probe stemmed from accusations that ED pressured accused individuals to implicate Kerala's Chief Minister in the smuggling case. Kerala had contested the single judge's stay before the Division Bench.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar