ED left red-faced as HC says arrest of Vasai Virar ex-civic chief illegal, based on 'hazy facts'

Mumbai, Oct 16 (PTI) The Bombay High Court in its order holding the arrest of former Vasai-Virar civic body chief Anil Pawar as "illegal" said there was no "prima facie" case made out for his arrest, leaving the Enforcement Directorate red-faced.

Pawar was arrested by the ED on August 13 in connection with a money laundering case.

On Wednesday, a bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad said the arrest was illegal and that the ED did not have "tangible material" required for the arrest.

The court held that Pawar's petition challenging his arrest succeeded and ordered for him to be released from jail.

In its 22-page order, details of which were made available on Thursday, the HC said it sees no "prima facie" case made out against Pawar for his arrest, adding that "the stand taken by the ED is speculative and based on hazy facts".

The ED has built its case against Pawar based on the statement of co-accused Y S Reddy that a codeword system was devised for collection of commission money and that huge tainted money was received by Pawar, it said.

"However, no recovery was effected from the premises of the petitioner (Pawar) or from his possession or in the possession of his family members," the court pointed out.

On the ED's argument that illegal constructions of 41 buildings were allowed by Pawar, the court said he cannot be said to be a party to the illegalities committed between 2008 and 2021 when he was not chief of Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (in Palghar district near Mumbai).

The bench said ED's allegations that Pawar turned a blind eye and took no action against the illegal constructions are without any description of the projects and without any details of the development plans.

Pawar's advocate Ujjwalkumar Chavhan welcomed the order and reiterated the arrest was arbitrary and without jurisdiction.

"It was Pawar who ordered and executed the demolition of the 41 illegal constructions. None of the former commissioners under whose tenure these constructions remained have been investigated," Chavhan told PTI.

Chavhan said the HC order marks a paradigm shift and a course correction in the interpretation of the ED's powers. It sets a crucial precedent for future investigations, Chavhan asserted.

The HC, in its order, further noted that when Pawar was arrested on August 13, the ED's arresting officer had no material as required under section 19 (reason to believe that the person is guilty of the offence) of Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Pawar had moved the HC challenging his arrest in the case and subsequent orders passed by a special court remanding him in judicial custody. The HC, on Wednesday, quashed the special court's orders as well.

Pawar is accused of conniving with builders and developers by which 41 illegal buildings were constructed in Vasai and Virar.

The ED claimed Pawar was central to a laundering racket worth hundreds of crores, supported by builder testimonies, WhatsApp chats and cash trail analysis.

Senior civic officials, including Pawar, took hefty bribes to overlook rampant illegal constructions across nearly 60 acres, as per the ED.

The probe agency has so far arrested four people in the case - Pawar, VVCMC town planner Y Shiva Reddy and two builders - Sitaram Gupta and Arun Gupta. They are all in judicial custody.

The case pertains to illegal construction of residential and commercial buildings on government and private land under the jurisdiction of VVCMC.

The probe agency alleged that over a period of time, 41 illegal buildings were constructed on the private and government land reserved for Sewage Treatment Plant and Dumping Ground as per the approved development plan of Vasai-Virar.

The accused developers have looted the general public at large by constructing illegal buildings and subsequently selling them by fabricating approval documents, despite knowing the structures were unauthorised and slated for demolition,, the ED has said.

The chargesheet filed by the ED said Pawar as VVCMC commissioner from January 2022 to July 2025 "acted as chief controller and key person of illegal unauthorised constructions".

Contrary to his legal obligations, Pawar actively facilitated and expanded the very network he was mandated to dismantle, the ED said. PTI SP BNM