Robert Vadra Wednesday moved the Delhi High Court seeking quashing of a money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in which he has been questioned by the probe agency.
Vadra, brother-in-law of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, has also sought that various provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 be declared unconstitutional.
His plea, in which he has sought quashing of the ED's FIR lodged in 2017, has been listed for hearing on March 25.
The ED case relates to allegations of money laundering in the purchase of a London-based property at 12, Bryanston Square, worth 1.9 million pounds. The property is allegedly owned by Vadra.
A trial court had on Tuesday extended Vadra's interim protection from arrest till March 25 in the case.
In his plea, Vadra has sought that Sections 3 (offence of money laundering), 17 (search and seizure), 19 (power to arrest), 24 (Burden of Proof), 44 (offences triable by special courts) and 50 (Powers of authorities regarding summons, production of documents and to give evidence, etc) of the PMLA be declared ultra vires or unconstitutional.
Besides Vadra, Manoj Arora, his close aide and an employee of Vadra's Skylight Hospitality LLP, has also filed a similar petition in the high court.
The ED had told the trial court that it lodged the money laundering case against Arora after his role came up during the probe of another case by the Income Tax Department under the newly enacted Black Money Act and tax law against absconding arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari.
It alleged that the London-based property was bought by Bhandari for GBP 1.9 million and sold in 2010 for the same amount despite incurring additional expenses of approximately GBP 65,900 on its renovation.
"This gives credence to the fact that Bhandari was not the actual owner of the property but it was beneficially owned by Vadra who was incurring expenditure on the renovation of this property," the ED had told the court.
ED had said it has received information about various new properties in London which allegedly belong to Vadra, including two houses of five and four million pounds each and six other flats.
Vadra, whose anticipatory bail plea is pending before the trial court, has been granted protection from arrest in the case.
The agency had claimed in the trial court that Vadra was not cooperating and sought his custodial interrogation.
It had also told the court that there was reasonable apprehension that Vadra being a highly influential person would tamper with the evidence and hamper the investigation.
In his anticipatory bail plea before the trial court, Vadra has alleged that he was being subjected to "unwarranted, unjustified and malicious criminal prosecution which on the face of it is completely politically motivated and is being carried out for reasons other than those prescribed under law".
It has said Vadra's office was raided by the ED on December 7, 2018 and, therefore, he seriously apprehended that his liberty may be curtailed by the investigating agency.
"The petitioner (Vadra) is being subjected to a farce criminal prosecution which actually is beset with nothing else except political vendetta and most unfortunately the respondent (ED) being the law enforcement agency is a party to the unethical and illegal exercise.
"It is stated that the petitioner's firm through its authorised representative Manoj Arora has already joined investigation with the ED conducting investigation into the affairs of the firm in Rajasthan with their offices at Jaipur on many occasions and has supplied all the relevant documents to the satisfaction of the officials of the ED," the plea has said.
