In a significant legal shift, businessman Robert Vadra on Monday unconditionally withdrew his petition in the Delhi High Court. The petition had challenged a trial court order summoning him in connection with a high-profile money laundering case linked to a land deal in Haryana’s Shikohpur.
Justice Manoj Jain recorded the decision in his order, noting that the petitioner’s counsel expressed no further interest in pursuing the matter.
“Learned counsel for the petitioner, at the very outset, submits that as per his instructions, the petitioner is not interested in pursuing the present petition and they seek to withdraw the same unconditionally,” Justice Jain noted.
The court subsequently disposed of the petition while keeping all rights and contentions of the involved parties open.
Vadra, the husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, will now shift his legal focus back to the trial court. His counsel stated that they plan to present “appropriate submissions” before the trial court at an “appropriate stage” rather than pursuing the challenge in the High Court.
The withdrawal follows a sharp counter-objection filed last week by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The central probe agency had strongly opposed Vadra’s petition, arguing that his defense was built upon a “complete false statement on law.”
At the heart of the legal dispute was an argument raised by Vadra’s lawyer, senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi. Singhvi contended that the ED lacked the jurisdiction to investigate the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He argued that the underlying offenses filed under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Corruption Act—stemming from a land transaction that occurred between 2008 and 2012—were not classified as “scheduled offences” under the PMLA during that period. According to Singhvi, those offenses were only added to the PMLA schedule later, in 2013 and 2018.
The ED, however, vehemently rejected this timeline-based defense, prompting the legal standoff that led to Monday’s withdrawal.
This legal battle intensified after a landmark ruling on April 15, 2026, when Special Judge Sushant Changotra took cognisance of the chargesheet filed by the ED in July 2025. The trial court concluded that a prima facie review of the documents showed “sufficient material to proceed further” against Vadra and eight other co-accused.
“Accordingly, I take cognisance of the offences under Section 3 (money laundering) read with Section 70 (offences committed by companies) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, punishable under Section 4 of the Act,” Special Judge Changotra had ruled.
Following the cognisance order, Vadra and the other accused were directed to appear before the trial court on May 16.
The July 2025 filing marked a milestone in the long-running probe: it was the first time any investigative agency had filed a formal criminal chargesheet against the 57-year-old businessman, following intense scrutiny that included three consecutive days of ED questioning in April 2025.
The money laundering case traces back to a February 2008 real estate transaction in the Manesar-Shikohpur area (now Sector 83) of Gurugram, Haryana.
At the time, Haryana was governed by a Congress administration led by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. A company named Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd, in which Vadra previously served as a director, purchased a 3.5-acre plot of land in Shikohpur from Onkareshwar Properties for Rs 7.5 crore.
Four years later, in September 2012, Skylight Hospitality sold the same parcel of land to real estate giant DLF for Rs 58 crore—yielding a massive appreciation in value.
The transaction quickly snowballed into a major political and legal controversy in October 2012. Ashok Khemka, an IAS officer serving as the director general of land consolidation and land records-cum-inspector-general of registration, officially cancelled the mutation of the land. Khemka asserted that the transaction violated the state’s consolidation act along with several associated administrative procedures.
Throughout the years-long investigation, Vadra has maintained his innocence. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing, characterizing the legal proceedings as a “political vendetta” aimed at targeting him and his family, including former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the current Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.
Alongside Vadra, the trial court’s summonses target several individuals and corporate entities linked to the transactions. These include Kewal Singh Virk, Sky Light Hospitality Pvt Ltd (now registered as Skylight Hospitality LLP), Sky Light Realty Private Limited, Real Earth Estates Private Limited (now Real Earth Estates LLP), and Blue Breeze Trading Private Limited (now Blue Breeze Trading LLP).
