Delhi HC refuses to quash money laundering case against Virbhadra Singh and others
The bench observed that the Himachal Pradesh chief minister’s plea was ‘deviod of substance’.
The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a plea filed by Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his family seeking to quash a money laundering case against them, PTI reported. With this, the investigation by the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation will continue.
The plea was filed by Singh, his wife Pratibha Singh, their son Vikramaditya Singh and one Chunni Lal. “The petitions are devoid of substance, consequentially the same are dismissed,” Justice RK Gauba said.
Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate had said that Singh’s plea to quash the money laundering case was “premature” as the inquiry into the matter was at a preliminary stage, PTI reported. The investigating agency in September 2015 had lodged the case against Singh and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act based on the complaint filed by the CBI.
On May 29, the accused in the disproportionate assets case were granted bail by a special CBI court. Singh had been asked to submit his passport, a personal bond and surety of Rs 1 lakh.
Singh is accused of allegedly amassing assets assets worth Rs 10 crore, which were disproportionate to his income between 2009 and 2011, when he was a union minister. He was also charged with forgery and corruption by the CBI.