NEW DELHI: Businessman Robert Vadra on Monday unconditionally withdrew his plea before the Delhi High Court challenging the trial court order that had issued summons to him on a chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) last July.
Background of the Case
The ED had earlier countered Vadra's plea, which argued that the agency's case is not based on a scheduled offence, saying it lacked merit and was based on a false legal submission. Vadra, husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, had questioned the merit of the ED's case related to a land deal in Shikohpur, Gurgaon, on grounds that the deal occurred between 2008 and 2012, but the offences forming the basis of the ED case were only included in 2013.
ED's Counterarguments
The ED had countered these claims, stating that the petitioner was "misleading on a false legal submission." Now that Vadra has withdrawn the challenge, he will have to appear before the trial court to participate in proceedings on the charges to be framed against him in the money laundering case related to the land deal his firm, Skylight Hospitality, had entered into in 2008 for Rs 7.5 crore. The land was sold to DLF for Rs 50 crore within a few months.
Ongoing Investigations
This is a new case being investigated against Vadra, with investigations in two other money laundering cases related to land deals in Haryana and Rajasthan also underway. The withdrawal of the plea marks a significant development in the legal proceedings, as Vadra now faces the trial court directly.
