CHENNAI: Enforcement Directorate is not a “loitering munition or drone” that can strike at will, nor a “super cop” empowered to investigate every matter that comes to its notice, Madras HC has observed while quashing a Rs 901-crore fixed deposit freeze order issued by the agency. A division bench of Justices MS Ramesh and V Lakshminarayanan ruled that ED’s powers under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) can only be invoked when there is a scheduled offence — termed a “predicate offence” — and the existence of proceeds of crime arising from it. “PMLA demands the existence of a predicate offence. When there is no predicate offence, initiation of proceedings under PMLA is anonstarter,” the bench said. It likened ED’s jurisdiction to a limpet mine requiring a ship to function. “The ship is the predicate offence and proceeds of crime,” it added. The ruling came in response to a plea by RKM Powergen Pvt Ltd, which challenged ED’s January 31 order freezing its fixed deposits. The company, represented by senior advocate B Kumar, said the freeze disregarded earlier court rulings and lacked fresh material. RKMP was allocated the Fatehpur East coal block in 2006. The Supreme Court cancelled the allocation in 2014. CBI initially registered an FIR but closed the case in 2017. Despite this, ED launched a PMLA probe in 2015 and froze RKMP’s accounts, which was struck down by Madras HC earlier. Rejecting ED’s stand, HC said actions under PMLA must follow legally prescribed route and termed the freeze order “legally untenable.”