Court allows confiscation of some properties of arms dealer Bhandari

A Delhi court has allowed the Enforcement Directorate to confiscate some properties of fugitive economic offender and arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari. The court has divided the properties into two lists, with the second list set for consideration on July 18.

Court Orders Confiscation of Properties

The Rouse Avenue court has allowed for the confiscation of some properties of Arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, a fugitive economic offender. The Enforcement Directorate had provided the list of properties and sought the confiscation of properties situated in India and abroad. Special Judge Sanjay Jindal allowed some properties of Sanjay Bhandari to be confiscated. The court has divided the properties into two lists, A and B. The court has listed the other properties in list B for consideration on July 18. The detailed order is yet to be uploaded by the court.

On April 18, the Rouse Avenue Court had reserved an order on the Enforcement Directorate (ED)'s plea. Bhandari was declared a fugitive economic offender last year. His appeal against the order has recently been rejected by the Delhi High Court.

Senior advocate Maninder Singh had appeared for Sanjay Bhandari and opposed ED's application seeking confiscation of Sanjay Bhandari's properties. Special Counsel Zoheb Hossain alongwith Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) N K Matta, assisted by Mohd Faizan, had appeared for the ED.

On January 31, the Rouse Avenue court reserved its order on the Enforcement Directorate's plea for confiscation of Sanjay Bhandari's properties. Thereafter, the order was deferred. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had argued that the properties directly concerned with Arms Dealer Sanjay Bhandari should be confiscated. The ED had told the court that the procedure for confiscation is done to deter people from leaving the country to avoid prosecution in a case.

ED's Plea and Bhandari's Defence

On July 12, 2025, the court granted time to Bhandari to exhaust statutory legal remedies against the order declaring him a fugitive economic offender. Zoheb Hosain had mentioned before the court that there is a list which included properties to be included in India, Dubai, UK, benami property in Noida and Gurugram, a series of bank accounts in his and his wife's name, jewellery and cash, immovable property in India in Vasant Vihar, Panchsheel shopping complex, and property in Shahpur Jat.

Bhandari was declared a fugitive economic offender on July 5, 2025. The second step is the confiscation of his properties, in connection with an income tax case involving undisclosed foreign assets, the ED had said.

The order was passed by Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal following a plea by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which has alleged that Bhandari had deliberately evaded Indian legal proceedings and possessed foreign assets exceeding ₹100 crore. The agency emphasised that the UK court's refusal to extradite Bhandari had no bearing on the current proceedings, which are independent and governed by Indian law.

Bhandari, however, contested the ED's plea, arguing that his residence in the UK is lawful and backed by a ruling from the London High Court, which denied his extradition, citing concerns over his safety in Tihar jail. His counsel, senior advocate Maninder Singh, claimed the ED's application was vague, lacked jurisdiction, and failed to meet the legal threshold under the FEO Act.

Singh had further argued that the monetary value of the alleged offence did not exceed ₹100 crore, referencing a 2020 submission by the Income Tax Department. He also pointed out that Bhandari had been discharged by the UK High Court and no fresh warrants were pending against him. The UK High Court had earlier blocked Bhandari's extradition on human rights grounds, citing risks of extortion and violence in Indian custody. The Indian government's subsequent attempt to challenge the decision in Britain's Supreme Court was also rejected. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)