The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday dismissed the regular bail plea of Punjab Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora in a money laundering case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Justice Kuldeep Tiwari pronounced the order in open court. Arora has been in custody since May 9. His regular bail application was earlier dismissed by a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Gurugram on June 15.
Arora, a serving Cabinet Minister in the Punjab government and a former Rajya Sabha MP, had approached the High Court seeking release on bail. He is also the promoter and chairman of Hampton Sky Realty Limited (HSRL), a company incorporated in 1987 that operates in multiple business sectors.
The prosecution case concerns allegations linked to mobile phone exports undertaken by HSRL to entities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). According to the allegations described in the bail plea, certain companies in the domestic supply chain were shell or dummy entities allegedly involved in issuing fake invoices and providing accommodation entries.
The ED has sought to treat the export transactions as a source of alleged proceeds of crime, which form the basis of the money laundering case.
Arora’s counsel argued that the case lacked evidence establishing a scheduled offence that generated proceeds of crime attributable to the minister. The defence also maintained that the investigation had not established Arora’s involvement in concealing, possessing, acquiring, using or projecting any alleged proceeds of crime.
According to the bail petition, the exports were genuine commercial transactions supported by documents, including purchase invoices, e-way bills, GST records, shipping bills, customs documents and banking records. The plea stated that the goods underwent customs examination, export clearances were issued and payments were received through regular banking channels.
The defence further submitted that searches had been conducted at Arora’s residence, his son’s residence and HSRL’s office, but no incriminating documents, unaccounted assets or digital records establishing an offence by him had been recovered.
Arora’s counsel also cited his age of around 62 years, medical conditions and the fact that the relevant documentary evidence was already with the investigating agency. The plea argued that there was no risk of evidence tampering, witness influence or flight from justice.
Despite these submissions, the High Court dismissed Arora’s regular bail application. The dismissal means he has not been granted regular bail through this petition.
The allegations concerning the export transactions and the defence arguments form part of the proceedings in the money laundering case. The dismissal of the bail plea does not, by itself, amount to a final determination of Arora’s guilt or innocence.
