Ex-VVCMC chief Anil Pawar released from jail, SC postpones ED’s plea

The ED claims that Pawar, who served as VVCMC commissioner from 2022 to July 2025, headed a cartel of officers, architects and liaison agents and accepted bribes in exchange for overlooking illegal constructions and approving building plans

MUMBAI: Former Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) commissioner Anilkumar Pawar was released from prison on Thursday night even as the Supreme Court on Friday deferred the hearing on the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) special leave petition (SLP) challenging the Bombay High Court’s declaration of Pawar’s arrest as illegal.

Ex-VVCMC chief Anil Pawar released from jail, SC postpones ED’s plea

“The Supreme Court refused to hear the ED’s SLP urgently to stay the SC order, saying the agency had registered the ECIR (Enforcement Case Information Report) four years after predicate offences were registered and therefore there was no urgency , and that the HC’s order was detailed,” Pawar’s counsel, advocate Ujjwalkumar Chavhan, told Hindustan Times. The SLP is likely to be heard on October 27.

Chavhan confirmed that Pawar, an IAS (Indian Administrative Services) officer, walked out of Arthur Road jail on Thursday night after spending nearly two months in prison. He was arrested by the ED on August 13 in connection with its money laundering investigation linked to illegal construction and alleged corruption in the VVCMC.

The ED claims that Pawar, who served as VVCMC commissioner from 2022 to July 2025, headed a cartel of officers, architects and liaison agents and accepted bribes in exchange for overlooking illegal constructions and approving building plans. According to the agency’s probe thus far, Pawar made ₹169 crore from various bribes and commissions during his tenure.

The court noted that as of August 13, the arresting officer did not possess sufficient material to justify forming a “reason to believe” that the IAS officer had committed an offence under the PMLA. Pawar’s arrest was not only contrary to section 19 of the PMLA but also an infringement of his fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution, the court said.

“The stand taken by the ED is speculative and based on hazy facts,” the judges remarked. “The case is based on the statement of Mr YS Reddy (former VVCMC town planner, arrested by the ED on August 13) that a codeword system for collection of commission was devised does not lead anywhere.”

The bench noted that the ED’s own search panchnama recorded that “no incriminating documents, unaccounted cash or electronic devices were found or seized” from Pawar’s home, and there was no recovery of any material that could be treated as proceeds of crime. The ED had failed to show how Pawar could be linked to any money trail or property derived from alleged criminal activity, the order said.