Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut granted bail in money laundering case; ED plea to stay order rejected

Mumbai, Nov 09: A special PMLA court in Mumbai on Wednesday granted bail to Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut in a money laundering case pertaining to the Patra Chawl redevelopment project.

Within hours, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) approached the Bombay High Court challenging the order granted by the special court. The matter was mentioned before Justice Bharati Dangre who agreed to list the matter for tomorrow but refused to suspend the bail.

Justice Bharati Dangre stated that she cannot pass sweeping orders under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) as requested by ED when the plea filed by the agency was one under Section 439(2) of CrPC. She noted that while the High Court has power to suspend order of bail under Section 482 CrPC read with Section 439, the plea by ED was limited to the prayer under Section 439.

The order paves the way for release of Raut from jail.

Special Judge M G Deshpande, had last week reserved the order after hearing arguments from both sides.

The central agency had arrested Rajya Sabha member Raut in July this year for his alleged role in financial irregularities in connection with the redevelopment of the Patra Chawl (row tenement) in suburban Goregaon.

He is currently in judicial custody and lodged at the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai.

Raut had in his bail plea claimed the case against him was a perfect example of "abuse of power" and "political vendetta".

The ED had opposed Raut's plea, saying he played a major role in the money laundering case related to the Patra Chawl redevelopment and acted "behind the curtains" to avoid the money trail, as reported by PTI.

The ED's probe pertains to alleged financial irregularities in the redevelopment of the Patra Chawl and related financial transactions involving his wife and associates.

Siddharth Nagar, popularly known as the Patra Chawl, in Goregaon is spread over 47 acres and houses 672 tenant families.

In 2008, the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), a government agency, assigned a redevelopment contract for the Chawl to Guru Ashish Construction Private Limited (GACPL), a sister company of the Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL).

The GACPL was supposed to build 672 flats for the tenants and also give some flats to MHADA. It was free to sell the remaining land to private developers.

But the tenants did not get a single flat in the last 14 years as the company did not redevelop the Patra Chawl and sold land parcels and Floor Space Index (FSI) to other builders for Rs 1,034 crore, as per the ED.