TRIBHUVAN DAHIYA, J.

The petition has been filed, inter alia, for setting aside the petitioner’s arrest order dated 05.05.2025, Annexure P-46, and all consequential proceedings, including the remand orders dated 05.05.2025, 09.05.2025, 13.05.2025 and 17.05.2025, Annexures P-56, P-67, P-69 and P-72, respectively, passed by the Special Judge-cum-Sessions Judge, Gurugram, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (for short, ‘PMLA’).

2. Briefly, the case of the prosecution is that M/s Sai Aaina Farms Private Limited, presently known as M/s Mahira Infratech Private Limited (hereinafter referred to as ‘SAFPL’) is controlled by family of the present petitioner and his sons, Sikander Singh and Vikas Chhoker. The companies of Chhoker family are known as ‘Mahira Group’ which primarily deal with real estate, and SAFPL is also one of several such companies under the Group which started affordable group housing project at Sector 68, Gurugram.

SAFPL applied for licences/permissions to the Department of Town and Country Planning, Haryana, and was granted licence no.106/2017 to build around 1500 flats in an area of about 10 acres; the project was required to be completed by 2021-22.

2.1. SAFPL started bookings of flats and collected about ₹363 crores from the home buyers. The construction work remained slow-paced and the promised deadlines were missed. This resulted into filing a complaint before the Magisterial Court at Gurugram and pursuant to directions issued by the Magistrate under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C., on 07.01.2021, FIR no. 11, dated 14.01.2021, was registered. The petitioner was not arrayed as an accused in the FIR.

2.2. The order passed by the Magistrate was challenged by the affected persons before this Court by filing, CRM-M-3823-2021, wherein vide interim order dated 27.01.2021, Annexure P-3, operation of the order dated 07.01.2021 and further proceedings in the said consequential FIR no.11, dated 14.01.2021, under Sections 120-B, 406, 420, 467, 468 and 471 IPC, registered at Police Station Sushant Lok, Gurugram, were stayed qua the petitioners therein.

2.3. Despite the pending proceedings, the respondent/Enforcement Directorate (ED) proceeded to register the inquiry, ECIR/GNZO/20/2021 dated 16.11.2021, by treating the offences in FIR no.11 of 2021 as the scheduled/predicate offences. Finally, the aforementioned petition was allowed, vide order dated 05.07.2023, Annexure P-5, and the Magistrate was directed to pass a fresh order.

2.4. The petitioner challenged the ECIR and the consequential proceedings before this Court by filing, CRM-M-37710-2023, wherein vide order dated 07.08.2023, Annexure P-6, the petitioner was allowed to appear

before the ED and give documents as per the requirement of Section 50 of the PMLA. The petition was filed primarily on the ground that there was no basis for the inquiry to continue as the scheduled offences under the PMLA had ceased to exist after the Magistrate’s order was set aside by this Court on 05.07.2023.

2.5. The ED added four more FIRs to the aforementioned ECIR, which are (i) FIR no.175, dated 18.05.2022, under Section 10 of the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975, registered at Police Station Rajendra Park, Gurugram; (ii) FIR no.151, dated 31.05.2023, under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 of IPC, registered at Police Station Rajendra Park, Gurugram; (iii) FIR no.152, dated 01.06.2023, under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 of IPC, registered at Police Station Rajendra Park, Gurugram; and (iv) FIR no.151, dated 05.07.2023, under Sections 120-B, 420, 467, 468, 471 of IPC, registered at Police Station Sushant Lok, Gurugram.

2.6. Pursuant thereto, the ED moved an application before the Special Judge, PMLA, seeking open-ended non-bailable warrants of arrest against the petitioner. The petitioner approached this Court seeking stay of execution of warrants, and this Court vide order dated 05.10.2023, Annexure P-8, directed that the warrants shall not be executed till