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The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the Enforcement Directorate's appeal challenging the Bombay High Court's ruling that declared the arrest of former Vasai-Virar civic chief Anil Pawar illegal. Pawar, arrested on 13 August in a money-laundering case linked to the alleged illegal construction of 41 buildings (2008-10) involving developers and CIDCO officials, had been released after the high court found no prima-facie evidence supporting his arrest under the PMLA. The ED contends that its probe revealed substantial illicit payments to Pawar, which he denies. A Supreme Court bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta has sought Pawar's response within three weeks.
The Supreme Court has accepted for hearing the Enforcement Directorate's appeal against the Bombay High Court's ruling that declared the arrest of former Vasai-Virar civic body chief Anil Pawar as illegal. The arrest, effected by the ED on 13 August, was made in connection with a money-laundering case involving alleged illegal construction of 41 buildings during 2008-10 by developers in collusion with officials of the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) and local civic bodies. Advertisement
Pawar, a 2014-batch IAS officer, had served as the commissioner of the Vasai-Virar city municipal corporation from January 2022 until July 2025, and he challenged his arrest in the high court on the grounds that it was an illegal and arbitrary exercise of power. The high court, in its order, noted that although the ED had pointed to illegal construction activity, it found no prima-facie case for his arrest on the record. The court quashed the remand orders passed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and directed his release.
In response to the ED's appeal, a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta heard the matter and has posted it for a hearing after about three weeks, while seeking Pawar's response in the interim. The ED asserts that its investigation, conducted between February 2025 and August 2025, revealed that Pawar had received substantial illegal gratifications; Pawar has denied all allegations.
The decision by the Supreme Court to hear the ED's appeal underscores the ongoing legal contention surrounding the arrest and procedural fairness in high-profile civic body investigations. With the high court having found the arrest unsupported by prima-facie evidence and the remand orders quashed under the PMLA, the forthcoming hearing will scrutinise both the investigatory basis and legal propriety of the arrest. The outcome could have implications for how enforcement agencies and courts handle arrests in complex real estate and development-linked probes.
Source: PTI
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