Delhi Court Delays Decision On Robert Vadra In Shikohpur Land Case to 2 August

A Delhi court on Thursday postponed its decision on whether to issue a notice to businessman Robert Vadra in a money laundering case linked to a land deal in Shikohpur, Haryana.

The court, which was likely to deliver the verdict today, will now announce it on 2 August.

Vadra, the son-in-law of former Congress President Sonia Gandhi and husband of MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, is under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with alleged irregularities surrounding the purchase of 3.53 acres of land in Gurugram district.

The ED has filed a prosecution complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), claiming that Vadra’s firm, Skylight Hospitality, acquired the land through a ‘false declaration’.

The agency alleges that Vadra’s firm did not make the ₹7.5 crore payment mentioned in the sale deed at the time of purchase and only paid it later to avoid stamp duty.

Zoheb Hossain, counsel for the ED, told the court that witness statements supported the claim that the payment was falsely declared. He further alleged that Vadra used ‘personal influence’ to secure a commercial licence for the property.

The ED said the land, subsequently sold to real estate developer DLF at a higher price, and this aspect remains under investigation.

Earlier in April, the agency summoned Vadra for multiple rounds of questioning and recorded his statements during the sessions.

Controversial Deal Dates Back to 2008

The controversial land deal took place in February 2008, during the Congress-led government in Haryana under then Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Officials completed the land mutation the very next day, an unusually swift move for such transactions.

Later that year, Vadra reportedly secured permission to develop a residential project on the site. He then sold the land to DLF in June for Rs 58 crore, raising suspicions about sudden profit and possible money laundering.

In 2012, IAS officer Ashok Khemka, who was then Director General of Land Consolidation in Haryana, annulled the land deal, citing irregularities.

However, a state government panel in 2013 cleared both Vadra and DLF of any wrongdoing.

When the BJP-led government came to power, Haryana Police registered an FIR against Hooda, Vadra, and others as part of a fresh inquiry into the matter.

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