HC asks ED to clarify status of Red Corner Notice against arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari

The Delhi High Court Friday directed ED to clarify the status of purported Red Corner Notice (RCN) issued against arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, who has sought the quashing of a money laundering case against him.

While ED submitted in an affidavit that Bhandari was a fugitive, proclaimed absconder and evading the process of law, his counsel said the probe agency has concealed information from the court which last July quashed an order declaring his client as a proclaimed offender.

Justice Mukta Gupta asked Enforcement Directorate to file an affidavit clarifying the facts, its stand and the status of the RCN. The court listed the matter for further hearing on April 1.

Bhandari and his wife Sonia Bhandari have move separate pleas seeking quashing of the money laundering case lodged against them by ED in February 2017.

Bhandari, who is also an accused in a 2016 case under the Official Secrets Act relating to the recovery of confidential documents of the Ministry of Defence from his residence during an Income Tax raid in 2016, was declared a proclaimed offender by a trial court here in January last year.

He is also facing prosecution under provisions of the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015.

In an affidavit filed in response to Bhandari's plea for quashing the case under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), ED has said: "It is relevant to note that when the petitioner fled India, there already existed a Look Out Circular (LOC) against him as his presence was needed by various law enforcement agencies."