The Enforcement Directorate has got a nod from a special court to confiscate a part of the assets of arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, a fugitive who, however, has got a relief from a court in the United Kingdom against his extradition to India.
Rouse Avenue Court Special Judge Sanjay Jindal gave the go-ahead to confiscate some properties following the ED submitting a list of them and bank deposits for action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The court’s detailed order is still to be made public. Bhandari’s properties have been segregated into two lists, A and B. The awaited order, reserved since April 18, is meant for List A assets, while the List B properties will be considered by the court on July 18.
Declared a fugitive economic offender on July 5 last year, Bhandari’s appeal against the ED’s asset attachment order was rejected by the Delhi High Court recently. This was after another Rouse Avenue Court allowed Bhandari to approach a higher court on July 12, last year, against its decision to declare him a fugitive economic offender. After that, the agency is allowed to confiscate a fugitive’s assets after vetting by the courts.
ED’s special counsel Zoheb Hosain, along with Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) NK Matta, had told the court that Bhandari’s properties were spread across India, Dubai, and the UK. It included benami property in Noida and Gurugram, immovable property in Vasant Vihar, Panchsheel, and Shahpur Jat. Besides that, he held a series of bank accounts in the joint name of his wife, jewellery and cash, as per the ED.
The agency had earlier accused Bhandari before a court of deliberately evading Indian legal proceedings. Bhandari’s foreign assets were more than ₹100 crore. The ED had also countered Bhandari’s plea that the UK court had denied his extradition, and emphasised the refusal had no bearing on the current proceedings, which are independent and governed by Indian law.
Bhandari’s counsel, senior advocate Maninder Singh, however, had argued that the fugitive’s 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.
Singh had also argued that the ED’s application was vague, lacked jurisdiction, and failed to meet the legal threshold under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEO Act), 2018.
Relying on a 2020 submission by the Income Tax Department, Singh contested the agency on the monetary value of the alleged offence, which did not exceed ₹100 crore. He also stated that there is no fresh warrant pending against Bhandari after the UK High Court turned down India’s request to extradite Bhandari on human rights grounds. The Indian government’s subsequent attempt to challenge the decision in Britain’s Supreme Court was rejected.
Published on May 5, 2026