KOCHI — Following a landmark High Court ruling, authorities at the Enforcement Directorate expressed profound relief Tuesday that they will no longer be required to formally register an FIR before launching investigations into political opponents and their families.

The ruling arrived during an appeal concerning a Rs 1.72 crore payment for IT services between a private firm and a company linked to a prominent Chief Minister's family in 2018. Under the new judicial interpretation of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the agency can now initiate "civil action," including inquiries and asset attachment, without a predicate offense, streamlining the process of applying prolonged political pressure.

"For years, our officers have been bogged down by the archaic requirement to actually allege a specific crime before initiating a money laundering probe against opposition figures," an agency spokesperson said. "This ruling allows us to skip straight to the investigation phase, ensuring the process itself remains the punishment without forcing us to generate unnecessary legal paperwork beforehand."

The spokesperson noted the decision comes at a highly convenient time for the agency, which had already rushed to raid the Chief Minister's premises the previous day, ensuring their inquiries were well underway just in case a formal charge is ever required.