Latest news with #SanjayBhandari
NDTV
5 hours ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Delhi High Court Judge Recuses From Hearing Sanjay Bhandari's Plea Challenging 'Fugitive Offender' Tag
New Delhi: A judge of the Delhi High Court on Thursday recused himself from hearing a plea by UK-based arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari challenging a trial court's order declaring him a "fugitive economic offender". Justice Girish Kathpalia, who was dictating the order and fixing the hearing for Friday on the maintainability of the plea, transferred the matter to another bench when the counsel for Bhandari and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) could not come to a consensus on the date of hearing. The case is listed before the trial court on August 2. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Bhandari, insisted that the matter be heard today itself as he was not available on Thursday, or it be heard after some days till when the court should direct the ED not to confiscate Bhandari's assets. However, ED's counsel was of the view that the court should not pass any interim order without hearing the agency's submissions, as he had preliminary objection on the maintainability of the plea and that it be heard on Friday itself. As the court was dictating the order, Sibal said, "Why don't you (ED counsel) just get an order in your favour now and get it all done. Your lordship may pass any order, let it (assets) be confiscated, it does not matter." In reply, ED's lawyer Zoheb Hussain said this was "extremely unfair". As both the counsels remained adamant, the judge said it cannot hear the matter in this manner, stating, "List before some other bench subject to orders of the judge in-charge of the criminal side tomorrow itself at 10:30 am." The trial court on July 5 declared Bhandari a "fugitive economic offender" on a plea by the ED, an order that will allow the agency to confiscate all his assets worth crores of rupees. District Judge (Tis Hazari) Sanjeev Aggarwal said in his order the court was satisfied that "Sanjay Bhandari, S/o Late R K Bhandari, is a fugitive economic offender under Section 12(1) of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, and is declared as such under the above provision(s) of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018". The order came as a shot in the arm for the federal probe agency, as it will now be able to confiscate assets worth crores of rupees of Bhandari, whose chances to come to India have been virtually nullified after a UK court recently ruled against his extradition. Bhandari's legal team, while opposing the ED's move to get him declared a fugitive offender, claimed that its "client's stay could not be called illegal in the UK as he has a legal right to reside in the UK and the government of India is bound by the judgment of the UK court... Bhandari is legally living there, and declaring him a 'fugitive' in that scenario is legally wrong". The trial court had said the "extradition attempt may have failed, but it will not make the accused an angel or immune from the prosecution for the violation of Indian laws". Bhandari (63) fled to London in 2016, soon after the Income-Tax (I-T) Department raided him in Delhi. The ED filed a criminal case against Bhandari and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in February 2017, taking cognisance of an I-T chargesheet filed against him under the anti-black money law of 2015. The court said when an accused chooses not to return to India, he cannot take the plea of avoiding all the legal consequences, including that of Section 14 of the FEO Act. "In any case, those who play with fire should be known to be aware of its consequences," it said. The court held that the undisclosed foreign income or assets of Bhandari were worth Rs 655 crore and the total tax evaded by him, including penalty and interest, was Rs 196 crore. The ED filed its first chargesheet against Bhandari in 2020. The agency is probing Bhandari's links with Robert Vadra, the businessman husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The ED filed a supplementary chargesheet in the case in 2023, alleging that Bhandari "acquired" the 12, Bryanston Square house in London in 2009 and got it renovated "as per the directions of Robert Vadra and the funds for renovation were provided by Robert Vadra". Vadra has denied owning any London property directly or indirectly, and termed the charges a "political witch-hunt" against him, claiming that he is being "hounded and harassed" to subserve political ends. Bhandari, who was a resident in India for tax purposes in 2015, is also accused of concealing overseas assets using backdated documents, benefitting from the assets not declared to Indian tax authorities, and then falsely informing the authorities that he did not possess any overseas assets. He, however, has denied the allegations. Bhandari's assets worth about Rs 21 crore have been attached by the ED under PMLA.
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Business Standard
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
Delhi HC judge recuses from Sanjay Bhandari plea on 'fugitive offender' tag
A judge of the Delhi High Court on Thursday recused himself from hearing a plea by UK-based arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari challenging a trial court's order declaring him a "fugitive economic offender". Justice Girish Kathpalia, who was dictating the order and fixing the hearing for Friday on the maintainability of the plea, transferred the matter to another bench when the counsel for Bhandari and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) could not come to a consensus on the date of hearing. The case is listed before the trial court on August 2. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Bhandari, insisted that the matter be heard today itself as he was not available on Thursday, or it be heard after some days till when the court should direct the ED not to confiscate Bhandari's assets. However, ED's counsel was of the view that the court should not pass any interim order without hearing the agency's submissions, as he had preliminary objection on the maintainability of the plea and that it be heard on Friday itself. As the court was dictating the order, Sibal said, "Why don't you (ED counsel) just get an order in your favour now and get it all done. Your lordship may pass any order, let it (assets) be confiscated, it does not matter." In reply, ED's lawyer Zoheb Hussain said this was "extremely unfair". As both the counsels remained adamant, the judge said it cannot hear the matter in this manner, stating, "List before some other bench subject to orders of the judge in-charge of the criminal side tomorrow itself at 10:30 am." The trial court on July 5 declared Bhandari a "fugitive economic offender" on a plea by the ED, an order that will allow the agency to confiscate all his assets worth crores of rupees. District Judge (Tis Hazari) Sanjeev Aggarwal said in his order the court was satisfied that "Sanjay Bhandari, S/o Late R K Bhandari, is a fugitive economic offender under Section 12(1) of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, and is declared as such under the above provision(s) of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018". The order came as a shot in the arm for the federal probe agency, as it will now be able to confiscate assets worth crores of rupees of Bhandari, whose chances to come to India have been virtually nullified after a UK court recently ruled against his extradition. Bhandari's legal team, while opposing the ED's move to get him declared a fugitive offender, claimed that its "client's stay could not be called illegal in the UK as he has a legal right to reside in the UK and the government of India is bound by the judgment of the UK court... Bhandari is legally living there, and declaring him a 'fugitive' in that scenario is legally wrong". The trial court had said the "extradition attempt may have failed, but it will not make the accused an angel or immune from the prosecution for the violation of Indian laws". Bhandari (63) fled to London in 2016, soon after the Income-Tax (I-T) Department raided him in Delhi. The ED filed a criminal case against Bhandari and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in February 2017, taking cognisance of an I-T chargesheet filed against him under the anti-black money law of 2015. The court said when an accused chooses not to return to India, he cannot take the plea of avoiding all the legal consequences, including that of Section 14 of the FEO Act. "In any case, those who play with fire should be known to be aware of its consequences," it said. The court held that the undisclosed foreign income or assets of Bhandari were worth Rs 655 crore and the total tax evaded by him, including penalty and interest, was Rs 196 crore. The ED filed its first chargesheet against Bhandari in 2020. The agency is probing Bhandari's links with Robert Vadra, the businessman husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The ED filed a supplementary chargesheet in the case in 2023, alleging that Bhandari "acquired" the 12, Bryanston Square house in London in 2009 and got it renovated "as per the directions of Robert Vadra and the funds for renovation were provided by Robert Vadra". Vadra has denied owning any London property directly or indirectly, and termed the charges a "political witch-hunt" against him, claiming that he is being "hounded and harassed" to subserve political ends. Bhandari, who was a resident in India for tax purposes in 2015, is also accused of concealing overseas assets using backdated documents, benefitting from the assets not declared to Indian tax authorities, and then falsely informing the authorities that he did not possess any overseas assets. He, however, has denied the allegations. Bhandari's assets worth about Rs 21 crore have been attached by the ED under PMLA. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sky News
20-07-2025
- Sport
- Sky News
Social media firms have gone backwards in tackling online hate, says Kick It Out chairman
As head of football's anti-racism body, there was dread for Sanjay Bhandari watching England's Women's Euros quarter-final with Sweden. But that's, grimly, how it always is. Concerned that black players will be singled out for blame. Not with a legitimate critique of their performances, but with toxicity and racism. And now Kick It Out is working with the Football Association to support Jess Carter after the England defender spoke out over the abuse she has been targeted with throughout the Women's European Championship. The players want social media firms to do more, but Mr Bhandari, the Kick It Out chairman, is concerned by their limited approach to the scourge of online hate. "The social media companies need to do far more," he told Sky News. "They've actually gone backwards over the last four or five years, not forwards. It's got worse on social media, not better. "And they need to provide us with the tools to help keep us safe and to remove some of this toxicity from the platforms. They're just not doing enough. "I would say that X is the worst. It has become no-holds-barred. "And with Instagram, it is much more in the direct messaging, and I think there needs to be much more done there to protect people from those messages." Meta, which owns Instagram, did not reply to a request for comment. There was no response from an email sent to X's press email address. 1:17 LinkedIn indicated that X's UK managing director Jonathan Lewis's account had seen a request for comment, but there was no response. On Friday, Mr Lewis and Premier League club Burnley were celebrating a new partnership in an announcement that made no mention of the abuse that many players across the world face on X. The hope is that the Online Safety Act will lead to social media firms implementing the safety tools required of them. Mr Bhandari said: "They have to be enforced by law enforcement against individual perpetrators, and also the regulatory parts need to be forced against the social media companies to force them to do the things that they need to do." Grimly familiar situation The FA reported the abuse suffered by Carter to police, and the hope is for speedy action because this is a grimly familiar situation. After the men's Euros final in 2021, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were racially abused after missing penalties in the shootout defeat to Italy. While players have been taking a knee against racism in men's and women's games, the Lionesses feel that is no longer enough at these Euros. They will stand instead before the semi-final with Italy because they say a new approach is needed to tackle racism. Carter didn't just face racism around the quarter-final that England won on penalties after fighting back from 2-0 down against Sweden here in Zurich. She has been subjected to abuse throughout the Euros. "I'm really feeling for Jess and what's sad is that this is shocking, but not surprising," Mr Bhandari said. "I watch every England game, at every tournament, with the fear that after the match, there's going to be abuse of a black player using the spurious basis of performance as an excuse to justify unjustifiable racism. All racism is unjustifiable. "The fact that someone's had a good or bad game in your opinion does not justify that kind of racist abuse."
News18
14-07-2025
- Business
- News18
Robert Vadra Appears Before ED In Sanjay Bhandari-Linked Money Laundering Case
Last Updated: Robert Vadra appeared before the Enforcement Directorate regarding a money laundering case linked to UK arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari. Robert Vadra, businessman and husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, on Monday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case linked to UK-based arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari and others. Accompanied by Priyanka Gandhi, the 56-year-old businessman arrived at the ED's central Delhi office shortly after 11am. His statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), News agency PTI citing sources reported. This is not the first time that Vadra was summoned to central probe agency's office. Earlier in June, he was summoned twice but had sought deferment, citing overseas travel commitments. Vadra is under ED lens in three separate money laundering cases, two of which involve alleged irregularities in land deals in Haryana and Rajasthan. In April, he was questioned for three consecutive days in connection with a 2008 Haryana land deal. Another case pertains to alleged financial irregularities in a land deal in Rajasthan's Bikaner. The latest case relates to ED findings reported in a 2023 chargesheet, which alleges that Sanjay Bhandari acquired a property at 12, Bryanston Square in London in 2009 and had it renovated 'as per the directions of Vadra and the funds for renovation were provided by Robert Vadra." The chargesheet claims that Vadra financed the renovation. Vadra, however, has consistently denied any ownership—direct or indirect—of property in London, labeling the allegations as politically motivated. He has said that he was being 'hounded and harassed" to subserve political ends. The ED is likely to file a fresh chargesheet in the case following Vadra's latest statements. Sanjay Bhandari, 63, fled India in 2016 following raids on him in Delhi by the Income Tax department. He was recently declared a fugitive economic offender by a Delhi court. A UK court had earlier rejected India's plea to appeal to the British Supreme Court after Bhandari was discharged in an extradition case, significantly reducing the chances of his return to face legal proceedings in India. view comments First Published: July 14, 2025, 16:14 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
New Indian Express
13-07-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Court grants Sanjay Bhandari time to challenge fugitive tag, ED plea adjourned
NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Saturday granted arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari time to explore legal remedies against the July 5 order that declared him a fugitive economic offender under the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act. Special Judge Sanjay Jindal of the Rouse Avenue Court allowed Bhandari's counsel time until August 2 to file an appeal before the High Court. The court also deferred proceedings on the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) plea seeking confiscation of Bhandari's properties, including assets in India, Dubai, and the UK. During the hearing, Bhandari's counsel requested an adjournment, stating that the FEO Act provides a statutory 30-day window to file an appeal. 'Let me exhaust my statutory remedy,' the counsel submitted, adding that the properties listed for confiscation had already been attached by the agency. Special Counsel Zoheb Hossain, appearing for the ED along with Special Public Prosecutor Naveen Kumar Matta and Mohd Faizan, opposed the adjournment, arguing that the pendency of an appeal could not stall confiscation proceedings. He also contended that Bhandari's counsel could not represent other noticees, who had been given a chance to respond independently. Hossain detailed the properties the ED seeks to confiscate, including real estate in Vasant Vihar, Panchsheel Shopping Complex, and Shahpur Jat, as well as alleged benami properties in Noida and Gurugram. The list also includes jewellery, cash, bank accounts in the names of Bhandari and his wife, and foreign assets. Bhandari was declared a fugitive economic offender on July 5 by Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal in connection with a money laundering case linked to undisclosed foreign holdings. The ED claimed he had evaded Indian authorities and held assets exceeding `100 crore. Bhandari's counsel, senior advocate Maninder Singh, argued that his client's presence in the UK was legal and protected by a London High Court ruling. The matter will be heard after the statutory appeal period ends.
