New Delhi [India], November 18 : Delhi's Patiala House Court on Tuesday sent Manoj Gaur, former executive chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Jaypee Associates (JAL) to 14-day judicial custody. He was in five-day Enforcement Directorate custody after his arrest on November 13 and was produced before the court.
Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Dhirendra Rana remanded Manoj Gaur to 14-day judicial custody.
ED had moved an application seeking judicial custody of Manoj Gaur, who is also a former Chairman and Managing Director of Jaypee Infratech Ltd. (JIL).
It was stated that the investigation is ongoing and the accused is required to be sent in judicial custody.
Special Public Prosecutor Atul Tripathi appeared for the probe agency. The court had granted five-day custody of Manoj Gaur to the ED on November 13 after he was arrested in a money laundering case.
ED earlier had submitted that it is a money laundering case related to the money of home buyers. It alleged that Rs 13000 crore collected from homebuyers was not used for providing residences.
Counsels for the accused had opposed the remand sought by the ED. It was submitted that the ECIR was lodged in 2018, and an arrest was made after almost seven years.
Senior advocate Anupam Lal Das opposed the remand application and submitted that there is no offence committed by the accused. He said there was a restraint on construction by the NGT and construction could not take place, and JayPee Associates Ltd had gone into insolvency in 2017.
Advocate Dr Farrukh Khan submitted that the ECIR is from 2018 and asked what stopped ED action between 2018 and 2025. He maintained that Gaur has been "illegally arrested". The counsel submitted that the accused appeared before the ED and cooperated in the investigation. He also sent an email to the IO and requested another date to appear.
The counsel submitted that there is no evasion on the part of Manoj Gaur. The counsel also pointed to his medical condition and asked when a company is dissolved, why the man should be sent to custody. He said the first FIR was lodged in 2017 and the statement was recorded after seven years.
It was further argued that the ground of arrest is meaningful if the agency is able to mention the purpose of arrest. It is not a case of custody remand, the counsel said.
The court asked the ED, "He has joined the investigation. What you have to ask now?" The ED's counsel Tripathi submitted that there are many documents and pointed out that the accused has submitted 10,000 documents.
"We are investigating the matter before the companies approached the NCLT. The offences are prior to that, Tripathi said.
"We have some right to complete the investigation. We are seeking 7 days custody only. We have to go forward. It is not only JAL and JIL. We want to know where the funds were diverted, to see the role of other persons involved, the role of other entities, the counsel for ED said.
Dr Farrukh opposed the submissions and submitted that it is not a murder case where identification of the weapon is required.
ED said earlier that it has arrested Manoj Gaur, former Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of M/s Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. (JAL) and former Chairman and Managing Director of M/s Jaypee Infratech Ltd. (JIL), under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The arrest took place following a detailed investigation and analysis of evidence gathered during the ongoing probe into ECIR registered by the ED under PMLA in connection with the Jaypee Group, the agency said in a release.
It is also said that the ED initiated the investigation against Jaypee group based on multiple FIRs registered by the Economic Offences Wings (EOW) of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh Police, based on complaints filed by homebuyers of Jaypee Wishtown and Jaypee Greens projects, alleging criminal conspiracy, cheating, and criminal breach of trust against the company and its promoters.
The agency alleged that the funds collected from thousands of homebuyers for construction and completion of residential projects were diverted for purposes other than construction, leaving the homebuyers defrauded and their projects incomplete.
ED said its investigation revealed that out of approximately Rs. 14,599 crore collected by JAL and JIL from homebuyers (as per claims admitted by NCLT), substantial amounts were diverted for non-construction purposes and siphoned off to related group entities and trusts, including Jaypee Sewa Sansthan (JSS), M/s Jaypee Healthcare Ltd. (JHL), and M/s Jaypee Sports International Ltd. (JSIL).
The agency stated that its investigation revealed Manoj Gaur to be the Managing Trustee of Jaypee Sewa Sansthan (JSS), which received part of the diverted funds.
ED had conducted search operations at 15 locations in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Mumbai, including the offices and premises of M/s Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. and M/s Jaypee Infratech Ltd in May this year.
During the searches, ED seized a large volume of financial and digital records. The agency alleged that the investigation has established the central role of Manoj Gaur in the planning and execution of the fund diversion through a complex web of transactions within the Jaypee Group and its associated entities.