The Delhi High Court has sought a response from the Enforcement Directorate on a petition by ex-Reliance ADAG MD Sateesh Seth. He challenges his arrest in an RCom money laundering case, arguing it's illegal as he was already in custody.

The Delhi High Court has issued a notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding a petition filed by Sateesh Seth challenging his arrest and remand in a money laundering case connected with Reliance Communications (RCom). Seth, a former Group Managing Director of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, was previously arrested in another money laundering case.

Seth has challenged his arrest as he was taken into custody while already in judicial custody, and argued that the agency failed to provide the grounds of arrest in writing to his family. On July 28, Justice Prateek Jalan issued a notice and sought a reply within one week, listing the matter for a hearing on August 12.

Legal Challenge and Court's Order

"Issue notice. Mr Vivek Gurnani, learned Panel Counsel, accepts notice on behalf of the respondent Directorate of Enforcement," Justice Jalan ordered on July 28. The bench noted that the petitioner is seeking a declaration that his arrest on July 9, in connection with the ED case registered on August 26, 2025, is illegal. He has also challenged the remand orders dated July 13, July 14, and July 16 passed by the Special Court.

Petitioner's Arguments

Advocate Sumer Singh Boparai contended that the arrest under the ECIR is vitiated because the Enforcement Directorate failed to furnish the written grounds of arrest to a family member of the petitioner, violating the law laid down by the Supreme Court in Vihaan Kumar v. State of Haryana, Article 22(1) of the Constitution, and Section 48 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023. The petition was filed by advocates Sumer Singh Boparai and Surya Pratap Singh.

According to the petition, on July 10, at 11:19 am, Nayan Seth, the petitioner's son, emailed the Investigating Officer seeking an update regarding the legal proceedings following his father's arrest. This email was sent approximately two hours before the ED filed the production and remand applications under Section 302 and Section 187 of the BNSS, respectively, at 1:10 pm. Despite this, the written grounds of arrest were not provided to the petitioner's family members.

The petition further states that the failure to furnish the written grounds of arrest caused grave and irreparable prejudice, as neither the family nor counsel was aware of the grounds of arrest or the reasons to believe under Section 19(1) of the PMLA. This prejudice was compounded by the fact that the petitioner was already lodged in Tihar Jail under judicial custody in a separate ECIR and remained physically inaccessible to his family, the petition noted.

Other Arrests in RCom Case

Previously, the ED arrested Punit Narendra Garg in the RCom money laundering case in 2025. A chargesheet has been filed against Punit Narendra Garg and Vaishali Mane, and the court took cognisance of it on June 15. Another accused, Gautam Bhailal Doshi, was also arrested by the ED in this case on June 12. (ANI)

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