The Bombay High Court has directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to transfer 50% of the interest accrued on ₹46.5 crore deposited in connection with a money laundering case to the Armed Forces Battle Casualties Welfare Fund, citing an “urgent and pressing need” to support families of soldiers who laid down their lives for the country.
A Division Bench of Justices A.S. Gadkari and R.R. Bhonsale passed the order on December 23, 2025, while dismissing the ED’s appeal against a 2019 decision of the Appellate Tribunal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which had quashed the agency’s attachment of ₹141.5 crore worth of assets belonging to Shapoorji Pallonji & Company Ltd (SPCL).
The ED had attached assets of SPCL in connection with alleged disproportionate assets of Nilesh Thakur, a public servant. The case revolved around payments made by SPCL from 2005 onwards to Thakur and his companies under a land purchase agreement to acquire 900 acres in Alibaug and Pen for ₹30 lakh per acre.
The ED contended that these payments constituted “proceeds of crime.” However, SPCL argued that the funds were part of a genuine transaction, duly recorded as advance payments in its income tax records. It also pointed out that Thakur was on unsanctioned leave for nearly four years at the time of the transactions and thus was not discharging public duties.
In January 2019, the PMLA Appellate Tribunal accepted SPCL’s arguments and set aside the attachment. Following the ED’s appeal, the High Court had stayed the Tribunal’s decision but directed the agency to deposit ₹46.5 crore with the court.
In its final ruling, the High Court upheld the Tribunal’s findings, ordering that the ₹46.5 crore be returned to SPCL. Importantly, the Court also directed that half the interest accrued on this amount be paid to the Armed Forces Battle Casualties Welfare Fund.
The Bench made a strong statement about the need to support families of soldiers, noting:
“There is an urgent and pressing need to provide for the families and widows of the soldiers who have lost their lives on the battlefield and in protecting the borders of the nation.”
Recognizing the sacrifices made by Indian soldiers, the court added:
“We therefore, deem it fit to transfer 50 per cent of the interest accrued to the Armed Forces Battle Casualties Welfare Fund. We do this in a manner and with an object of balancing the equities.”
