Thursday, the Delhi High Court dismissed Sanjay Bhandari’s challenge to being called a ‘fugitive economic offender’ in the money laundering case. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna stated simply, “The appeal is dismissed.” The full, written explanation of the ruling isn’t available yet, but it does confirm a decision made by the trial court on July 5th, 2025.
Background and trial court ruling
The trial court said Bhandari was a fugitive economic offender after the Enforcement Directorate (or ED) started the legal process. This gives the ED broad authority to take and keep property connected to the money from the alleged crimes, including assets in other countries.
The court said that declaring someone a fugitive economic offender can make them come back to India, by going after their property and legal rights. Also, while they are a fugitive economic offender, they aren’t allowed to start or respond to civil lawsuits in India.
Arguments before the high court
Bhandari’s lawyers said the ED acted too soon with their request. No final ‘assessment order’ (AO) had yet officially said Bhandari had avoided paying over 100 crore rupees in taxes. They said the ED mostly used a July 2019 message from the income tax department, and didn’t have enough proof when they began the fugitive economic offender proceedings.
The ED, represented by additional solicitor general SV Raju and special counsel Zoheb Hossain at the High Court, said a final assessment order wasn’t needed to begin calling Bhandari a fugitive economic offender. They also mentioned a 2020 assessment order that apparently showed he hadn’t reported income and had avoided around 196 crore rupees in taxes.
Parallel probes and the extradition history
Bhandari is being investigated in a number of ways. The Enforcement Directorate, the Central Bureau of Investigation, the income tax department, and the Delhi Police have all looked into him for suspected money laundering, breaking rules about foreign money, and violating laws against having undeclared money. They’ve also investigated whether he broke the Official Secrets Act.
Bhandari left India in 2016, and Interpol issued a ‘red notice’ for him in October 2017. He was arrested in the UK in 2020 after the UK’s Home Secretary approved requests for his return to face charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and the Black Money Act. He was released on bail, and a court in Westminster said in 2022 he should be sent back to India. However, UK courts dismissed or refused parts of the extradition process in 2024 and 2025.
Allegations, assets and legal fallout
The money laundering investigation started with a complaint to the income tax authorities and involves properties in London, and land in India. Investigators have tied parts of the case to a large deal to buy things for the military, and to questionable property deals made overseas that might be money laundering.
Because Bhandari is a fugitive economic offender, the ED can seize his property anywhere in the world and he can’t defend himself in civil cases in India. The lower court was clear that even if he isn’t sent back to India, he isn’t protected from being prosecuted, and the High Court seemed to agree with this by rejecting his appeal.
Potential next steps and wider implications
Now that the High Court has rejected Bhandari’s appeal, the ED can move forward with taking his assets and other actions allowed under the fugitive economic offender rules. Bhandari might go to the Supreme Court, but it’s usually very hard to reverse a fugitive economic offender order unless new legal reasons or proof appears.
This case demonstrates how the authorities are using ways to categorize people financially to go after them when they cross borders, especially when getting them returned to India is difficult. It also shows the difficulties between how things are done legally in India and what happens in foreign courts in complicated international cases.
