* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Reserved on: 21^st August, 2025 Pronounced on: 9th April, 2026 + CRL.A. 1071/2025 & CRL.M.A. 22223/2025 (stay)

SANJAY BHANDARI S/o Late Shri Rajinder Kumar Bhandari, B-217, Greater Kailash-1, New Delhi, Presently residing at Flat 18, 17 Great Cumberland Place, London, W1H7AS, United Kingdom .....Appellant Through: Mr. Kapil Sibal, Sr. Advocate with Mr.

Avneesh Arputham, Ms. Aparajita Jamwal and Mr. Ankit Sharma, Advocates.

versus DIRECTORATE OF ENFORCEMENT Represented through its Deputy Director, 10-A, Jamnagar House, Akbar Road, New Delhi – 110001 .....Respondent Through: Mr. S.V. Raju, ASG with Mr. Zoheb Hossain, Spl. Counsel, Mr. Vivek Gurnani, Panel Counsel, Mr. Kartik Sabharwal, Mr. Pranjal Tripathi and Mr. Satyam, Advocates CORAM:

HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE NEENA BANSAL KRISHNA

J U D G M E N T

NEENA BANSAL KRISHNA, J.

1. The Statutory Appeal under Section 17 of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (hereinafter referred to as ―FEO Act‖) has been filed on behalf of the Appellant, Sanjay Bhandari to challenge the Impugned Judgment dated 05.07.2025 of learned Special Judge (CBI) PC Act-10, New Delhi declaring the Appellant a Fugitive Economic Offender (FEO).

2. The Respondent/ED filed a Misc. Application No. 249/2019 on 13.12.2019, before the learned Special Judge under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, seeking a declaration of the Appellant as a Fugitive Economic Offender.

3. The brief facts as stated in the Misc. Application, was that ED is a statutory Agency under Fugitive Economic Offender‟s Act (FEO Act), entrusted with the authority to implement the provisions of the Act. It is also a Competent Agency to investigate into offences under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

4. It was stated that a Prosecution Complaint bearing CC No.2121/2019 dated 22.12.2018 under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act (Black Money Act), 2015 was initiated against the Appellant Sanjay Bhandari, by the Income Tax Authorities, which is pending adjudication before the learned ACMM. It disclosed that the Accused/Petitioner had wilfully not disclosed various mandatory information in his Returns of Income, relating to foreign assets (including financial interest in any entity) acquired by him, outside India.

5. Further, by acquisition of Al-Rahma Trust in Dubai and a change in its structure as a part of the pre-meditated scheme to dissociate himself from all his offshore entities/foreign assets and by fabricating and back dating the documents, he made another attempt to wilfully cause such circumstances to exist, which will have the effect of enabling him to evade tax, penalty or interest chargeable or imposable under the Black Money Act, as envisaged in Section 51(3) of the Black Money Act.

6. It was further stated in the Misc. Application that since Section 51 of the Black Money Act is a Scheduled Offence under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 and the proceeds of crime involved were in excess of Rs.100 crores, NBW was issued against the Petitioner by the ACMM, Tis Hazari, Delhi in the complaint, which is still pending.

7. Simultaneously, the Enforcement Directorate is also conducting investigation against the Petitioner in ECIR/HQ/03/2017, for the offence of Money Laundering.

8. Another criminal case under Official Secrets Act vide FIR No.173/2016 has been registered by Delhi Police, wherein he has been declared a Proclaimed Offender.

9. The ED had reasons to believe that the Accused/Petitioner is a Fugitive Economic Offender, which are :

(a) The Income Tax Authorities have filed a Prosecution Complaint bearing CC No.2121/2019 dated

22.12.2018 under Section 51 Black Money Act;

(b) An open ended NBW was issued against the Accused on 31.10.2019. In this Complaint on the reasonable believe that he was deliberately evading the process of law;

(c) The proceeds of crime in the Scheduled offence under the FEO Act, is in excess of Rs.100 Crores, which has been confi