The Tamil Nadu government on Monday accused the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of misrepresenting and hiding crucial facts in its writ petition at Madras High Court. The ED sought direction for State police to register FIRs based on its information on river sand mining offences. The State government said this writ petition under Article 226 was not maintainable and should have been taken to the Supreme Court under Article 131, since it involves a dispute between central and state agencies. The State said the ED, which works under the Union Ministry of Finance and is empowered by the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, is not a separate statutory body but part of the Government of India, and has no constitutional rights under Article 226. It argued one investigative agency cannot ask the court to direct another. The Tamil Nadu government called the ED’s letter to the State DGP on June 13, 2024 urging police action on sand mining "otiose" as the Madras High Court quashed the ED’s probe on July 16, 2024, a decision upheld by the Supreme Court in September 2025. The State accused the ED of suppressing facts and said the writ petition harms the federal structure and is unjustified. It said the ED conducted searches without a proper predicate offence and harassed State officials. It also claimed an ED officer forged a Tamil Nadu government logo on a letter and coerced a water department official to sign it. The government highlighted strict controls on sand mining, stating the State directly manages operations and approvals with multiple monitoring committees. It said police cannot register FIRs blindly based on ED’s information. Terming the ED a "wrongdoer," the government demanded dismissal of the writ petition with costs and court censure against the ED. The Madras High Court adjourned the hearing to December 16 for the ED to file a rejoinder. This update was published on December 8, 2025, at 09:56 pm IST.