New Delhi: Businessman Robert Vadra on Thursday failed to secure immediate relief from the Delhi High Court in a money laundering case linked to a 2008 land deal in Gurugram’s Shikohpur village.
A single-judge Bench of Justice Manoj Jain was hearing Robert Vadra’s plea challenging a Rouse Avenue Court order taking cognisance of an ED complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and issuing summons to him and eight others.
During the hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Vadra, argued that some of the offences invoked in the predicate case under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Corruption Act were added to the schedule of the PMLA after the alleged commission of the offence between 2008 and 2012.
He contended that the issue relating to jurisdiction and retrospective application of the provisions had been raised before the trial court, but was not dealt with.
Opposing the plea, ED counsel Zoheb Hossain submitted that Vadra had made “false and incorrect statements” in his petition. “This needs to go with costs. I have done an exercise of pulling out all the bare acts. Complete false submissions. Section 467 IPC was there in its original inception in the PMLA schedule. Ex facie, false and incorrect statements are made,” Hossain submitted.
The Delhi High Court, after hearing submissions on behalf of Robert Vadra and the ED, which opposed the plea on maintainability grounds, adjourned the matter for further hearing on May 18.
“Mr Singhvi, please come prepared on this aspect on Monday because that is your central plank. We will hear you on Monday,” Justice Jain said.
Earlier on April 15, the Rouse Avenue Court had issued a summons to Vadra and eight others after taking cognisance of the ED’s prosecution complaint. The Special Court had directed Vadra, husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, and the other accused to appear before it on May 16.
Accordingly, Robert Vadra will have to appear before the trial court on the date fixed in compliance with the summons issued to him.
The ED has alleged that Vadra’s company, Skylight Hospitality Private Limited, acquired around 3.5 acres of land in Haryana’s Shikohpur village in February 2008 for Rs 7.50 crore from Omkareshwar Properties Private Limited despite having limited capital.
According to the probe agency, no actual payment was made, and the sale deed contained false declarations, including reference to a cheque that was allegedly never issued or encashed.
The ED has further claimed that the land was undervalued in the sale deed, resulting in evasion of stamp duty and constituting an offence under Section 423 of the IPC.
In its prosecution complaint, the ED has identified Rs 58 crore as proceeds of crime and provisionally attached 43 immovable properties worth Rs 38.69 crore allegedly linked to Vadra, his proprietary concern Artex, Skylight Hospitality Private Limited and associated entities.
The federal anti-money laundering agency has sought a maximum punishment of seven years’ rigorous imprisonment under Section 4 of the PMLA, along with confiscation of the attached properties.
In October 2012, senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka had cancelled the Shikohpur land deal, citing procedural irregularities. Though an in-house government panel later gave a clean chit to Vadra and DLF, an FIR was subsequently registered after the BJP government came to power in Haryana.
(IANS)
