Robert Vadra, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s husband, unconditionally withdrew his plea before the Delhi High Court on Monday. The plea had challenged proceedings initiated against him in the Shikohpur land deal money laundering case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The matter came up before Justice Manoj Jain of Delhi High Court after Special Judge Sushant Changotra of the Rouse Avenue Court took cognisance of the ED’s prosecution complaint against Vadra on May 13.
Vadra had approached the High Court questioning the summons issued to him in the case. However, during the hearing, he sought permission to withdraw the petition, which the Court ultimately allowed unconditionally.
The development came after sharp objections raised by ED counsel Zoheb Hossain regarding submissions made in Vadra’s petition. The ED had argued that Vadra incorrectly claimed that some offences forming the basis of the predicate offence were added to the schedule of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) only after the alleged transactions took place between 2008 and 2012.
Hossain contended that Section 467 of the Indian Penal Code had been part of the original PMLA schedule from the very beginning and alleged that fabricated assertions had been made before the Court by Vadra. The High Court had earlier directed Vadra’s counsel, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, to address this issue during the subsequent hearing.
When the matter was taken up again, the ED insisted that the petition could only be withdrawn unconditionally. The Court thereafter permitted Vadra to withdraw the plea without imposing any conditions.
Meanwhile, Vadra had already appeared before the trial court on May 16, where he was granted bail on furnishing a surety bond of Rs 50,000.
The case relates to a 2008 land transaction in Shikohpur village in Gurugram. According to the ED, a company linked to Vadra allegedly purchased 3.5 acres of land for Rs 7.5 crore through a fraudulent transaction and later sold the property to DLF for Rs 58 crore after obtaining a commercial licence. The agency has alleged that the deal involved irregularities and that undue benefits were extended during the tenure of former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
The post Robert Vadra withdraws plea in Delhi High Court challenging ED proceedings appeared first on India Legal.