india

Updated: Mar 25, 2019 23:59 IST

A Delhi trial court on Monday extended Robert Vadra’s interim protection from arrest till March 27, even as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) opposed his plea before the Delhi high court seeking that a money laundering case in which he was questioned by the agency be quashed.

ED, which had sought the judicial custody of Vadra in a case pertaining to an alleged purchase of London-based property worth 1.9 million pounds, argued that he “wilfully suppressed” material facts from the court.

It said when Vadra, husband of Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, feared that “law will catch him, he challenged the PMLA provisions”. Senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and KTS Tulsi, appearing for Robert Vadra, and advocate Tanveer Ahmed Mir representing his alleged aide Manoj Arora, denied the allegations. The HC asked ED to file an affidavit regarding the maintainability of two separate but similar petitions by Vadra and Arora within two weeks.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the ED and the Centre, raised objection over the maintainability and said no relief should be granted.