Uttarakhand HC deals blow to ED’s land attachment notice against former BJP minister; Stay order remains in effect

The Uttarakhand High Court jolted Enforcement Directorate’s effort to attach 101 bighas of land of former BJP MLA and Pushkar Singh Dhami Cabinet Minister Harak Singh Rawat in Dehradun as it refused to vacate its May 6 stay stating that ED’s notice was not in accordance with section 5(1)(B) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002.

Hearing upon the case on Thursday against ED’s attachment order of 101 bighas of the land purchased by the family members of the former BJP minister Harak Singh Rawat, a single bench of the High Court, presided over by Justice Pankaj Purohit, maintained that the the stay will continue till the next hearing on August 21.

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The ED had on January 20 issued notice for the attachment of 101 bighas of land in Dehradun belonging to the family of Rawat as it was purchased at throw away price of ₹6.5 crore against the ₹70 crore as market price. The ED had also claimed that the power of attorney issued by landowner Sushila Rawat was misused, as the land was sold to Harak Singh Rawat’s wife Deepti Rawat, Lakshmi Rana, and the Purna Devi Trust for a nominal amount, significantly below the area’s circle rates.

According to ED, a portion of the land was used to construct the building of the Doon Institute of Medical Sciences under the banner of Poorna Devi Memorial Trust being managed by Rawat’s son Tushit Rawat.

However, the ED notice to Purna Devi Trust was challenged in the Uttarakhand High Court following which it stayed the central agency’s contention that the attachment notice was not in accordance with the provision 5(1)(B) of the PMLA 2002. Provision 5(1)B of the PMLA 2002 deals with the attachment of property involved in money laundering.

According to the provision, a director or a high-ranking official can order for attachment of the property if he believes on reasonable grounds, documented in writing, that the property may be concealed, transferred, or dealt in a way that could frustrate proceedings under the PMLA.

The petition challenging ED action argued that notice served to Rawat was not in accordance with the provisions of Section 5(1)(B) of the PMLA Act 2002. In it’s first stay the High Court had said that there does not seem to be a possibility of hiding, transferring or disposing of the property as mentioned in the relevant section of the PMLA Act 2002. The HC maintained its stay on May 22 hearing as it deferred the next hearing on August 21.

Harak Singh Rawat is a renowned political face in the state who remained in power most of the time irrespective of the political party that ruled the state. He was a cabinet minister in Trivendra Singh Rawat regime and Pushkar Singh Dhami government-01 from 2018 to 2022 but left the BJP and joined the Congress prior to the assembly elections in 2022. Prior to this he defected from Harish Rawat’s cabinet along with other Congress MLAs in 2016 and joined the BJP leading to political crisis in the state.