Industrial plot allotment: HC dismisses ED plea to cancel bail of former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, others in money laundering case

Chandigarh: In a relief to Bhupinder Singh Hooda and others in a money laundering case related to the allotment of industrial plots in Panchkula, the Punjab and Haryana high court dismissed the plea of Enforcement Directorate (ED) for cancellation of the bail of the former Haryana chief minister.
Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya passed the orders after recording the statement made by S V Raju, additional solicitor general, and senior counsel appearing for the ED. Raju contended that, in view of the law settled in Tarsem Lal versus ED, Jalandhar zonal office, Hooda and other accused's entitlement to bail cannot be disputed.
The SC in this case held that once the special court takes cognizance of a complaint under the PMLA, the ED loses its authority to arrest under Section 19. The SC effectively curtailed the ED's discretion to arrest and detain the accused without sufficient grounds and clarified that if an accused was not arrested until the filing of the complaint and cognizance is taken by the special court, the ED and its officers are powerless to arrest the said accused under Section 19 of the PMLA.
The HC heard the case on March 26, and the order was released on Monday.
In its plea, the ED sought directions for the cancellation of a common order dated March 15, 2021, passed by the special judge under PMLA (Haryana), Panchkula. Hooda and other accused were granted bail as they were neither arrested during the course of the investigation by invoking Section 19 of the PMLA, nor produced in custody by the ED. The statutory complaint was filed against the respondents without arresting them.
The former CM and others were booked in a complaint case No. COMA/3/2021 dated February 15, 2021, registered under Sections 44 and 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) Act, 2002.
As per the allegations in this case, during the Congress regime, Hooda allotted 14 industrial plots worth around Rs 30.3 crore in a prime area of Panchkula to 14 acquaintances in 2013, allegedly at rates four to five times below the circle rate and seven to eight times below the market rate. Prominent beneficiaries of the scheme included close members of the Hooda family, his MLAs/party workers, and his personal staff in the chief minister's office.
The plots were located in Panchkula's Industrial Area Phase 1 and ranged from 496 sqm at Rs 31.74 lakh to 1,280 sqm offered at Rs 64 lakh. The investigating agencies alleged that the market price was much higher at the time of allotment.
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