Virbhadra case: Court to hear arguments on ED charge sheet on Apr 24

A special court will hear arguments on April 24 on the ED charge sheet against LIC agent Anand Chauhan in a money laundering case allegedly involving Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.
The order was passed by Special Judge Virender Kr Goyal who extended Chauhan's judicial custody till that date.
Besides this case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the court will also decide on April 24 whether to take cognisance of a separate charge sheet filed by the CBI against Singh, Chauhan and others for allegedly amassing assets worth around Rs 10 crore disproportionate to their known sources of income.

Both the charge sheets are the outcome of the same offence as alleged by the two agencies. In the charge sheet filed by the ED, the chief minister has not been arrayed as an accused but a witness.
The court had on September 7 last year taken cognisance of the ED charge sheet filed against Chauhan.
The charge sheet was filed for offences under sections 3 (money-laundering) and 4 (punishment for the offence) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Act.
The ED has said Singh "while serving as a Union minister had invested huge amounts in purchasing LIC policies in his own name and those of his family members through Chauhan".

Chauhan was arrested by the ED from Chandigarh on July 9 last year under the provisions of PMLA on the ground that he was allegedly not cooperating with the probe.