New Delhi [India], August 21 : The Delhi High Court on Thursday reserved its order on a petition filed by UK-based arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari, challenging a trial court's decision declaring him a Fugitive Economic Offender (FEO) under the provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018.
The matter was heard by Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, who reserved her verdict after hearing extensive submissions from both sides.
Appearing for Bhandari, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal contended that once a person is declared a fugitive, he is stripped of his right to avail legal remedies. He argued that the trial court's order must be stayed, as its immediate consequence would be the seizure of Bhandari's properties.
The plea was strongly opposed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), represented by Advocate Zoheb Hossain, who submitted that deferment of the trial court's order could not be granted merely on request. "The only objective of the FEO Act is that this man comes back to India to face the law," Hossain told the court, opposing even the issuance of notice on the stay application.
Earlier Trial Court Judge, Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal declared Bhandari a Fugitive Economic Offender on ED's application, which alleged that he had willfully evaded legal proceedings in India and held undisclosed foreign assets exceeding ₹100 crores.
While the ED argued that the refusal of a UK court to extradite Bhandari has no bearing on proceedings in India, Bhandari's counsel countered that his stay in the UK is lawful and protected by a London High Court ruling blocking his extradition, citing potential threats to his safety in Delhi's Tihar Jail.
In earlier hearings, Senior Advocate Maninder Singh had also represented Bhandari, describing the ED's plea as vague, lacking jurisdiction, and failing to meet the ₹100 crore threshold under the FEO Act. He also pointed out that the UK High Court had discharged Bhandari and that no fresh warrants were pending against him. The Indian government's attempts to overturn the UK ruling in the UK Supreme Court were unsuccessful.