ED opposes Sanjay Bhandari's plea against 'fugitive offender' tag in Delhi HC

New Delhi, Aug 8 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate on Friday opposed in the Delhi High Court a plea of UK-based arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari against a trial court's order declaring him a "fugitive economic offender".

The probe agency said when the trial court's order was passed in July, the court was aware about an assessment order showing Rs 655 crore of property was surreptitiously acquired.

His counsel and senior advocate Kapil Sibal, however, argued before Justice Neena Bansal Krishna that the prosecution was initiated without completion of assessment proceedings and if the assessment was incomplete, where was the reason to believe that the tax evasion was over Rs 100 crore.

"They had no evidence to show that there was a Rs 100 crore tax liability. There has to be reason to believe that the tax liability is more than Rs 100 crore. Now if the assessment is not completed, where is the reason to believe that it is more than Rs 100 crore. This application (to declare him a fugitive) did not lie. It was premature," he submitted.

Seeking a stay and quashing of the trial court proceedings, Sibal said Bhandari would be remediless the moment they declare him a fugitive.

"They (ED) don't follow the law, they want to declare me a fugitive offender and take over Rs 400-500 crores of my property and don't allow me to file any claim. This is the state of law in this country," he said.

Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the ED, said, "When the order was passed the trial court was aware that there was an assessment order showing that Rs 655 crore of property has been surreptitiously acquired and on the date of the order, there was more than Rs 100 crore tax liability and Rs 196 crore of tax evasion is there." The court posted the matter for August 20.

The trial court on July 5 declared Bhandari a "fugitive economic offender" on a plea by the ED, an order that allows the agency to confiscate all the assets worth crores of rupees of Bhandari, whose chances to come to India have been virtually nullified after a UK court recently ruled against his extradition.

Bhandari's legal team, while opposing the ED's move to get him declared a fugitive offender, claimed its "client's stay could not be called illegal in the UK as he has a legal right to reside in the UK and the government of India is bound by the judgment of the UK court... Bhandari is legally living there, and declaring him a 'fugitive' in that scenario is legally wrong".

The trial court said the "extradition attempt may have failed, but it will not make the accused an angel or immune from prosecution for the violation of Indian laws".

Bhandari (63) fled to London in 2016, soon after the I-T department raided him in Delhi.

The ED filed its first chargesheet against Bhandari in 2020.

The agency is probing Bhandari's links with Robert Vadra, the businessman husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. PTI SKV SKV AMK AMK