NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday reserved its order on a plea filed by UK-based arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari, challenging a trial court’s order declaring him a “fugitive economic offender”, after hearing detailed arguments from both sides.
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna heard the arguments on behalf of Bhandari and the Enforcement Directorate and reserved its verdict.
The ED, defending the trial court’s July 5 order, told the bench that the lower court had passed its ruling while being fully aware of an assessment order which revealed that properties worth Rs 655 crore were “surreptitiously acquired.” The agency maintained that such findings justified the declaration of Bhandari as a fugitive offender under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Countering the ED’s stance, Bhandari’s counsel argued that the prosecution was initiated even before assessment proceedings were complete. “If the assessment was not complete, where was the reason to believe that the tax evasion was over Rs 100 crore,” his lawyer contended, asserting that the trial court’s decision was premature.
Seeking to overturn the declaration, his counsel warned that Bhandari would be left without recourse. “He would be rendered remediless the moment they declare him a fugitive,” the court was told. The July 5 order, passed on ED’s plea, had paved the way for the agency to confiscate all assets belonging to Bhandari, valued at several hundred crores.
The development came shortly after a UK court ruled against his extradition, making his return to India unlikely. Bhandari’s lawyers insisted the ED’s approach was legally flawed.