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 decision declaring him a fugitive economic offender under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna heard arguments from both Bhandari’s legal team and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) before reserving the verdict. Bhandari’s counsel sought to stay and quash the trial court’s July 5 order, contending that such a declaration would leave him “remediless.”
The ED opposed the plea, pointing out that the trial court had sufficient material, including an assessment order indicating that Bhandari had allegedly acquired Rs 655 crore worth of property surreptitiously. The agency maintained that the fugitive tag was justified to ensure confiscation of his assets.
Bhandari’s counsel countered that prosecution was initiated prematurely, without completion of tax assessment proceedings, questioning the ED’s claim that evasion exceeded Rs 100 crore, the threshold under the law.
They further argued that Bhandari’s residence in the UK could not be termed illegal since a UK court had recently rejected India’s extradition request, granting him a legal right to stay there. Declaring him a fugitive in such circumstances, they claimed, was “legally untenable.”
The trial court, while declaring him a fugitive economic offender, observed that the failure of extradition efforts did not absolve Bhandari of alleged violations of Indian laws. The order enabled the ED to initiate confiscation proceedings against his assets worth several crores.
Bhandari, 63, fled to London in 2016 after the Income Tax Department raided his premises in Delhi. The ED lodged its first criminal case against him under the PMLA in 2017, based on an Income Tax chargesheet filed under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) Act, 2015. The agency filed its first chargesheet in 2020.
