High Court sets aside attachment of Piramal Realty’s properties worth Rs.410 crore.

The Delhi High Court has set aside a provisional attachment of Piramal Realty’s properties worth Rs.410 crore by the Enforcement Directorate.

The high court ruled in an order issued a week ago that the ED’s provisional attachment of properties “cannot continue” because the realty company “was not arrayed as an accused and was merely a lender to M/s Omkar Realtors and Developers (“ORDPL”),” a company being investigated by the agency on money laundering charges.

The HC clarified that the ED was at liberty to seek the renewal of the provisional attachment orders “in compliance with the law if there is any modification to the situation.”The company (Piramal) has also been given the liberty “to move an appropriate form if the properties are not released”.

According to the ED, Omkar Group received an Rs.410-crore loan from Yes Bank to build buildings for slum dwellers under a Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) scheme in Wadala, Mumbai but diverted the funds to other companies.

The agency is looking into an alleged Rs.410 crore SRA scandal involving Omkar Realtors & Developers promoters Kamal Gupta and Babulal Verma. The authority had last year trained its concentrate on its association with the Piramal Group’s real estate arm.

As first reported by ET, the high court in August barred the petitioner company (Piramal Realty) from “disposing of or creating 3rd rights or encumbering” the estate.

Advocate Vijay Aggarwal appeared on behalf of the company, arguing that there was no link between the company’s legitimate interest in the attached properties and any alleged crime or proceeds of crime.

Aggarwal also claimed that in January of this year, the Mumbai Police filed a closure report against Omkar Relators and that the ED case had been closed.

Нe claimed that Piramal Reality was merely one of the lenders and the ED in a “entirely improper manner” attached its properties.