Delhi court grants bail to bizman in Rs 241 crore money laundering case
money laundering case linked to alleged duping of plot buyers, noting that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested him in a «brazen manner» in «disregard» of Delhi High Court orders, adding that the approach needed to be «deprecated». Special Judge Gaurav Gupta granted relief to Rajesh Katyal, who was accused of duping innocent plot buyers of their hard-earned money.
The judge noted the submissions made by senior advocates Vikas Pahwa and Geeta Luthra, appearing for the accused, that Delhi High Court directed status quo in the FIR, based on which the ED lodged its case, by an order passed on July 30, 2024.
«Since FIR forms part of the predicate offence (based on which the ED lodged the present case), the ED ought to have abided by the said order. However, in a brazen manner and in disregard of orders passed by a Constitutional court, the ED proceeded to arrest the accused.
«The least the ED could have done was to seek leave of the high court before venturing to arrest the accused. However, in a rather cavalier manner, it was declared on behalf of ED that they are not bound by the said orders of the high court. This approach of ED needs to be deprecated,» the judge said in an order passed on November 14.
The judge also noted that the existence of the predicate scheduled offence itself was doubtful, therefore, «there are reasonable grounds for the court to believe that the accused is not guilty of the alleged offence».
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