A Delhi court on Saturday issued a notice to businessperson Robert Vadra, husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, in the scandalous Shikohpur land deal.
The Rouse Avenue Court accepted the charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the ongoing high-profile money laundering case and issued notices to 11 accused persons, including Vadra.
Vadra will have to put forward his arguments on August 28, which is also the date for the next hearing in this case.
The ED says the case pertains to the alleged purchase of 3.53 acres of land in Shikohpur village in Gurugram using dubious means. The agency claims the illegal money used for the transaction flowed through several firms said to be controlled by Vadra.
As part of the investigation, the ED froze 43 assets belonging to Vadra and his firm, M/s Sky Light Hospitality Pvt. Ltd., with a total estimated value of ₹37.64 crore.
The case traces back to an FIR in 2008 filed by Gurugram Police, alleging Vadra's company bought land from M/s Onkareshwar Properties Pvt. Ltd. for ₹7.5 crore through purportedly fake documents.
In 2012, the same property was purchased by DLF Ltd., a leading real estate firm, for ₹58 crore. The deal attracted attention and questions regarding its validity.
The dispute became national news after Ashok Khemka, then serving as Haryana's Director General of Land Consolidation and Land Records and Inspector-General of Registration, cancelled the mutation of land. He referred to violations of state norms as grounds for his cancellation.
The action by Khemka created political controversy and resulted in protracted judicial and administrative investigation into land transactions that involved persons with political connections.
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