The enforcement directorate (ED) has secured permission to obtain judicial records related to a long-pending CBI case involving World Wide Immigration Consultancy Services (WWICS) founder Colonel B S Sandhu (retd) and others, paving the way for its money laundering investigation.
Special judge (PMLA), Mohali, allowed the agency’s application seeking certified copies of key court records, including the FIR, chargesheets and other documents filed in the original CBI case back in December, 2008. The court directed that the records be supplied in accordance with the prescribed procedure.
The ED informed the court that it had initiated a money laundering investigation after registering an enforcement case information report (ECIR) on the basis of the CBI case, treating the alleged offences as scheduled offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). It submitted that access to the FIR, the original chargesheet filed in 2008, subsequent supplementary chargesheets and other relied-upon documents was essential to carry out its investigation.
The ED’s plea was opposed by counsel representing accused Rajiv Bajaj, who argued that the agency had not disclosed sufficient details of the ECIR or demonstrated why the court records were indispensable for its investigation. After considering the submissions, the court directed the CBI to provide the requested documents to the ED.
The CBI case against Col BS Sandhu traces back to 2004, following Punjab and Haryana high court directions. The CBI investigated the illegal construction of the Forest Hill Resort on approximately 300 acres of protected forest land in Karoran village, Mohali. The agency charged Sandhu and other officials with criminal conspiracy, cheating, and corruption.
{{/usCountry}}The CBI case against Col BS Sandhu traces back to 2004, following Punjab and Haryana high court directions. The CBI investigated the illegal construction of the Forest Hill Resort on approximately 300 acres of protected forest land in Karoran village, Mohali. The agency charged Sandhu and other officials with criminal conspiracy, cheating, and corruption.
{{/usCountry}}They alleged that the developers bypassed environmental laws, forged documents, and colluded with state forest and revenue department officials to grab forest land for commercial exploitation. This long-standing probe formed the foundational “scheduled offence” that allowed the ED to later initiate its money laundering investigation.
Acting on the HC’s directions, the CBI’s anti-corruption bureau in Chandigarh registered an FIR on April 7, 2006, under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code. A chargesheet was filed in December 2008, and the trial has remained pending before the special CBI court.