NEW DELHI: Arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari has opposed ED’s plea before a Delhi court seeking to declare him a “fugitive” in connection to a black money case, claiming that his stay in the UK was legal since his extradition to India was denied by the London High Court.Bhandari made the submissions before the court through his lawyer on April 19, claiming that ED’s application was “vague, misplaced and without jurisdiction as the same does not comply with the requirements of the Fugitive Offenders Act”.The High Court of Justice, London, UK in February allowed Bhandari’s appeal against his extradition to India to face charges of alleged tax evasion and money laundering, saying that in Tihar jail here he would be at “real risk” of extortion, threats and “actual violence” by other prisoners and prison officials.The High Court of Justice, UK, earlier this month also dismissed the petition filed by the Government of India seeking permission to appeal in Britain’s Supreme Court against its order.Bhandari’s lawyer, senior advocate Maninder Singh, cited the rulings before special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal here, claiming that his “client’s stay could not be called illegal in the UK as he has a legal right to reside in UK and the GOI is bound by the judgment of the UK court. Bhandari is legally living there, and declaring him a ‘fugitive’ in that scenario is legally wrong.”Singh, assisted by advocates Avneesh Arputham and Aekta Vats, further claimed that as per Fugitive Offenders Act, the value involved in the scheduled offence (black money case against Bhandari in the current matter) is required to be Rs 100 crore or more to declare a person fugitive.However, when the ED filed its application seeking to declare Bhandari a fugitive, no such assessment by the income tax department was available with them and the court was misled into believing that the value of offence involved was more than Rs 100 crores, he said.
Source link
