New Delhi, April 4 (NationPress) A Delhi court has postponed its decision regarding the acceptance of a prosecution complaint from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against entrepreneur Robert Vadra and others in a money laundering case tied to a 2008 land transaction in Gurugram’s Shikohpur village.

The Special Court located at Rouse Avenue indicated that it would announce its ruling on April 15, following the review of arguments concerning the acceptance of the charge sheet submitted by the federal anti-money laundering agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED has alleged that Vadra — who is the spouse of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and the son-in-law of former Congress president Sonia Gandhi — generated illicit funds through a deceitful land deal involving 3.53 acres in Haryana.

Additionally, the investigation agency asserts that these funds were funneled through various companies that are supposedly under his control.

Previously, the court had issued a notice to Vadra and other proposed defendants, in alignment with Section 223(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which requires that an accused be granted a chance to be heard before any acceptance of the complaint.

The order issued by Special Judge (PC Act) Sushant Changotra stated, “Issue notice to all the proposed accused persons listed in the complaint for a hearing on the question of cognisance.”

According to the ED, Vadra’s firm, Skylight Hospitality Private Limited, despite having minimal capital, procured 3.5 acres of land in Shikohpur in February 2008 for Rs 7.50 crore from Omkareshwar Properties Private Limited.

The agency claims that no genuine payment was made and that the sale deed included false statements, such as a reference to a cheque that was never issued or cashed.

The ED alleges that the land was sold at an undervalued price, leading to the evasion of stamp duty, thus constituting an offense under Section 423 of the Indian Penal Code.

In its complaint, the ED has identified Rs 58 crore as proceeds of crime and has provisionally attached 43 properties valued at Rs 38.69 crore, deemed equivalent to the proceeds of crime.

These properties are reportedly owned by Vadra, his proprietary business Artex, Skylight Hospitality Private Limited, and other related entities.

The agency has requested a maximum sentence of seven years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 4 of the PMLA, along with the confiscation of the attached assets. In October 2012, senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka annulled the Shikohpur land deal due to procedural discrepancies.

Although a government panel later cleared Vadra and DLF, an FIR was filed by Haryana Police after the BJP-led administration assumed control of the state.