Punjab ex-CM Amarinder Singh, son get ED summons in FEMA violation case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned BJP leader and former Punjab chief minister Capt. Amarinder Singh and his son Raninder Singh in connection with a 2016 case involving alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

The father-son duo has been accused of being beneficiaries of certain foreign assets, including a Swiss bank account. Capt Amarinder Singh has been asked to appear before the ED at its Jalandhar office on Thursday. Raninder Singh is also scheduled to appear the same day.

However, sources indicated that Capt. Amarinder Singh is unlikely to attend the proceedings as he recently underwent knee replacement surgery at a private hospital in Mohali.

Responding to the summons, Raninder Singh said in a post on X: “As law-abiding citizens, we will cooperate fully with every investigation agency. We have absolute faith in the rule of law and are confident that truth and justice will prevail.”

The case traces its origins to 2016, when Amarinder Singh was a Congress leader. In October 2020, the ED had also summoned Raninder Singh to its Jalandhar office to explain the alleged movement of funds to Switzerland and the creation of a trust in the British Virgin Islands, a known tax haven.

Earlier, the Income Tax Department had filed a charge sheet against the duo in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Ludhiana. The department alleged that Raninder Singh was the beneficiary of foreign assets maintained and controlled through overseas business entities, including bank accounts with HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) SA in Geneva, Switzerland.

According to the I-T Department, documents indicated that Raninder Singh was a ‘settler’ of the Jacaranda Trust, formed in July 2005 in the British Virgin Islands between him and HSBC Trust Company Limited, which acted as trustee. The department had also alleged that he misled investigators by claiming he did not possess documents relating to his family’s overseas income and trusts.

The father-son duo challenged the Ludhiana court’s order before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, arguing that the income tax records contained “secret” information shared by the French Republic with the Government of India. They contended that there was a “specific bar” under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between India and France on sharing such information with third parties.

In September 2025, the Punjab and Haryana High Court upheld the order of the additional district judge, describing it as “well-reasoned” and finding no infirmity or error of law.

The ED’s latest summons marks a fresh development in the long-running case.

With IANS inputs