Businessman Robert Vadra on Monday (May 18, 2026) unconditionally withdrew in the Delhi High Court his petition challenging a trial court order that summoned him in a money-laundering case linked to a land deal in Haryana's Shikohpur.
"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 Manoj Jain recorded in the order.
“The counsel for Mr. Vadra, the husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, said he would make "appropriate submissions" before the trial court at an "appropriate stage". All rights and contentions of the parties are kept open and the petition is disposed of,” Justice Jain said.
Last week, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had opposed the petition, contending that it was based on a false legal submission.
The agency made the claim while countering the submission by Mr. Vadra's lawyer, senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi, who argued that Enforcement Directorate (ED) lacked the jurisdiction to probe the case as the offences filed against the petitioner under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act were not "scheduled offences" under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act at the relevant time.
Mr. Singhvi argued that the land deal admittedly happened between 2008 and 2012, and the offences forming the basis of the ED case were only included in the schedule in 2013 and 2018. However, the ED's lawyer said the petitioner's contention was incorrect and was a "complete false statement on law".
On April 15, 2026, the trial court took cognisance of offences in the charge sheet filed by the ED in July 2025 and asked Mr. Vadra and others to appear before it on May 16. This was the first time that any probe agency filed a charge sheet against the 57-year-old Mr. Vadra in a criminal case. In April 2025, the ED had questioned him for three consecutive days.
In the cognisance order, Special Judge Sushant Changotra had said the charge sheet and a prima facie broader scrutiny of the documents, disclosed sufficient material to proceed further against Mr. Vadra and eight other accused persons.
"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 (PMLA), punishable under Section 4 of the Act," the judge had said. The probe against Mr. Vadra is linked to the land deal at Manesar-Shikohpur (now Sector 83) in Gurugram district.
The deal was done in February 2008 by a company named Skylight Hospitality Private Limited, where Mr. Vadra was a director earlier. Under the deal, the company purchased a 3.5-acre plot in Shikohpur from Onkareshwar Properties for ₹7.5 crore. At the time, Haryana was ruled by the Congress government led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
Four years later, in September 2012, the company sold the land to realty major Delhi Land and Finance (DLF) for ₹58 crore. The deal got embroiled in controversy in October 2012 after IAS officer Ashok Khemka, then posted as director general of land consolidation and land records-cum-inspector-general of registration, cancelled the mutation after categorising the transaction as violative of the state consolidation act and some related procedures.
Mr. Vadra has been denying any wrongdoing, calling the case a "political vendetta" against him and his family, including former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.
Besides Mr. Vadra, summonses were also issued to Kewal Singh Virk, Sky Light Hospitality Private Limited (now Skylight Hospitality LLP), Sky Light Realty Private Limited, Real Earth Estates Private Limited (now Real Earth Estates LLP), Blue Breeze Trading Private Limited (now Blue Breeze Trading LLP) and others.
Published - May 18, 2026 01:56 pm IST
money laundering / Delhi / court / Haryana / Indian National Congress / Chandigarh
Source: The Hindu - India News
