Delhi court reserves verdict on issuing notice to Robert Vadra in land deal case

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Thursday reserved its decision on issuing a notice to businessman Robert Vadra, son-in-law of former Congress President Sonia Gandhi, in connection with a money laundering case linked to a land deal in Haryana’s Shikohpur.

The Rouse Avenue Court will likely pronounce its verdict on July 31 regarding the issuance of a notice to Vadra, the husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had filed a prosecution complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), claiming that Vadra’s Skylight Hospitality “fraudulently” purchased 3.53 acres of land situated in the village of Shikohpur in Haryana’s Gurugram district through “false declaration”.

During the hearing, advocate Zoheb Hossain, appearing for the ED, stated that the sale deed falsely declared a payment of Rs 7.5 crore, whereas in reality, no such payment was made. This amount was paid at a later stage to evade stamp duty, a fact that has been confirmed by key witnesses, added Hossain.

Further, the federal anti-money laundering agency claimed that Vadra, “through his personal influence”, obtained a commercial license on the land purchased. As per the ED, the land was later sold to DLF at a higher price, and this aspect of the case is still under investigation.

In April this year, Vadra was questioned in multiple rounds by the ED, during which his statement was also recorded.

The land purchase deal in question was executed in February 2008 when Congress was at the helm in Haryana, and Bhupinder Singh Hooda was the Chief Minister. The mutation process, which usually takes months, was done the next day.

Months later, Vadra received a permit to develop a housing society on the land, and the value of the plot increased. He sold it to DLF in June at Rs 58 crore.

Suspecting the proceeds to be part of a money laundering scheme, the ED has been probing the trail behind the windfall gains. In October 2012, IAS officer Ashok Khemka (now retired), who was then posted as the Director General of Land Consolidation and Land Records-cum-Inspector-General of Registration of Haryana, cancelled the land purchase deal, citing procedural irregularities. Later in 2013, an in-house government panel gave a clean chit to both Vadra as well as DLF.

When the BJP-led government came to power, an FIR was registered by the Haryana Police against former Chief Minister Hooda, Vadra, and others.

IANS