$~96 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + W.P.(C) 4740/2026, CM APPL. 23161/2026 & CM APPL.

23162/2026 Date of Decision: 09.04.2026 IN THE MATTER OF:

DIVYANSH GOEL & ANR. .....Petitioners Through: Mr. Arun Khatri, Mr. Sahil Khurana, Mr. Hitesh Nandal and Ms. Shelly Dixit, Advs.

versus THE DIRECTORATE OF ENFORCEMENT & ANR.

.....Respondents Through: Mr. Sandeep Sharma, Sr. Adv. with Mr. B.S. Rana, Mr. R.D.Sharma, Mr. S. K. Deswal & Mr. Hunnypreet Singh, Advocates.

Mr. Zoheb Hossain, Special Counsel for ED with Mr. Vivek Gurnani, Panel Counsel, Mr. Pranjal Tripathi, Mr. Siddharth Bajaj and Mr. Satyam, Advs.

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PURUSHAINDRA KUMAR KAURAV

JUDGEMENT

PURUSHAINDRA KUMAR KAURAV, J. (ORAL)

1. The petitioners, all residents of Gurugram, Haryana, have filed the instant petition seeking following reliefs:

“i. Call for records and issue order/ direction or writ in the nature Certiorari thereby quashing and setting aside the search and seizure proceedings (including panchnama & search authorization no. 80/2025 dated 18.12.2025) conducted by ED on 19.12.2025 and 20.12.2025 at the residence of the petitioner to be illegal and unlawful;

ii. Call for records and issue order/ direction or writ in the nature Certiorari or any other writ thereby quashing and setting aside OA no. 29/2026 and “reasons to believe” u/s 8 (1) of PMLA issued by adjudicating authority/R-2 PMLA being illegal and non-est.

iii. Pass directions for taking appropriate action against concerned officers for conducting vexatious search in terms of section 62 PMLA, 2002.

iv. Pass any other order which this Hon‟ble Court may deem fit in the interest of justice. 61.”

2. The facts of the case, as stated in the petition, appear to be that the Central Bureau of Investigation („CBI‟) registered an FIR under section 120B read with sections 420, 467, 468, 471 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 („IPC‟), against certain individuals who were accused of operating alleged illegal call centres from New Delhi and adjoining areas. In pursuance of the investigation, CBI conducted search proceedings at the office premises of M/s Innonet Technology Pvt. Ltd., located at Tower-B, Building No. 10, 1^st Floor, DLF Cyber City, Phase-II, Gurugram, Haryana, which is the purported place from where the alleged illegal call centres operated.

3. Taking the FIR of the CBI as a predicate offence, the respondent no. 1-Enforcement Directorate (“ED”), on 30.08.2024, registered an ECIR bearing no. ECIR/GNZO/20/2024, at the Zonal Office of ED at Gurugram. Thereafter, in furtherance of a search authorization issued by Mr. Tushar Narayan, Deputy Director, ED, Zonal Office, Gurugram, between 20.08.2025 to 22.08.2025, the ED conducted a search at the residential premises of the petitioners at Building No. 8, Penthouse-B, The Hibiscus by SS Group, Sector 50, Gurugram, Haryana.

4. During the said search, certain movable properties of the petitioners were seized. The said properties were sought to be retained by the ED, and thus, under Section 17(4) of the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002 (“PMLA”), an application was moved by the ED before the Adjudicating Authority. The petitioners, subsequently, received a show cause notice along with the “reasons to believe” under Section 8(1) of the PMLA from the Adjudicating Authority.

5. In the interregnum, the ED, had also issued, inter alia, summons dated 21.08.2025, 24.08.2025, 27.08.2025, and 08.10.2025, from its Zonal Office, Gurugram, calling upon the petitioners to join investigation.

6. Thereafter, it is stated that on 19.12.2025 to 20.12.2025 the ED carried out another search at the petitioners‟ premises in Gurugram, in pursuance to a fresh search authorisation dated 18.12.2025 issued by Mr. Narayan, Deputy Director, ED, Zonal Office, Gurugram. Again, certain movable properties of the petitioners were seized. A fresh application was preferred by the ED qua the seizures made on 20.12.2025 before the Adjudicating Authority and resultantly a show cause notice al