Robert Vadra moves Delhi HC against summons in Haryana land deal case

The summons were issued after the court of special judge Sushant Changotra (Rouse Avenue) took cognisance of the ED’s charge sheet

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s husband, businessman Robert Vadra on Wednesday moved the Delhi high court challenging the summons issued to him in a money laundering case related to alleged irregularities in a land deal in Haryana’s Shikohpur.

Vadra challenged the trial court’s April 15 order. (PTI)

The petition in which Vadra challenged the trial court’s April 15 order is listed before a bench of Justice Manoj Jain on Thursday.

In his petition, filed by advocate Prateek Krishan Chadha, Robert Vadra contended that there was no illegality involved and that the transaction was purely commercial in nature.

The order, Vadra, in his petition, was perverse.

The summons were issued after the court of special judge Sushant Changotra (Rouse Avenue) took cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) charge sheet filed in the case in July last year. The court asked the accused to appear before it on May 16.

The allegations in the case pertain to a 3.53 acre plot of land in Shikohpur in Gurugram. The ED alleged that Robert Vadra’s firm, Sky Light Hospitality, fraudulently purchased the land from Onkareshwar Properties on February 12, 2008. It named Robert Vadra among the accused.

The agency alleged that false declarations were made in the land acquisition and claimed that a commercial license was obtained through his personal influence.

The agency’s lawyer argued before the trial court that the ₹7.5 crores shown as payment for the land was through a cheque that was never encashed. The ED claimed the land was later sold to DLF for a higher amount.

The ED issued a provisional order in July last year, attaching 43 immovable properties valued at around Rs. 37.64 crores as part of the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).