Robert Vadra moves Delhi High Court against trial order summoning him in ED case

New Delhi: Businessman Robert Vadra has moved the Delhi High Court against a trial court order issuing summons to him in a money laundering case linked to a land deal in Haryana's Shikohpur.

The petition is listed for hearing on Thursday before Justice Manoj Jain.

On April 15, the trial court took cognisance of the offences in the charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Vadra and others in the case and asked them to appear before it on May 16.

The charge sheet was filed by the investigating agency last July.

It was the first time that any probe agency filed a charge sheet against 57-year-old Vadra in a criminal case. In April 2025, the ED had questioned him for three consecutive days.

In the cognisance order, Special Judge Sushant Changotra said the charge sheet, and a prima facie broader scrutiny of the documents, disclosed sufficient material to proceed further against Vadra and eight other accused persons.

"Accordingly, I take cognisance of the offences under Section 3 (money laundering) read with Section 70 (offences committed by companies) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, punishable under Section 4 of the Act," the judge had said.

The probe against Vadra is linked to the land deal at Manesar-Shikohpur (now Sector 83) in Gurugram district.

The deal was done in February 2008 by a company named Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd, where Vadra was a director earlier, under which it purchased a 3.5-acre land in Shikohpur from Onkareshwar Properties for Rs 7.5 crore.

At the time, Haryana was ruled by the Congress led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Four years later, in September 2012, the company sold the land to realty major DLF for Rs 58 crore.

The deal got embroiled in controversy in October 2012 after IAS officer Ashok Khemka, then posted as director general of land consolidation and land records-cum-inspector-general of registration, cancelled the mutation after categorising the transaction as violative of the state consolidation act and some related procedures.

Vadra has been denying any wrongdoing, calling the case a "political vendetta" against him and his family, including former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.

Besides Vadra, summonses were also issued to Kewal Singh Virk, Sky Light Hospitality Pvt Ltd (now Skylight Hospitality LLP), Sky Light Realty Private Limited, Real Earth Estates Private Limited (now Real Earth Estates LLP), Blue Breeze Trading Private Limited (now Blue Breeze Trading LLP) and others.