Sanjay Raut was detained without cause, the Mumbai court said while releasing the Sena leader on bail.

Sanjay Raut, the leader of the Shiv Sena, and his close aide Pravin Raut received bail on Wednesday at a special court run by the PMLA. According to the court, Sanjay Raut was “arrested for no reason,” whereas Pravin Raut was “arrested for a pure civil suit.”
By Vidya: On Wednesday, a special court operating under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) granted Sanjay Raut, the leader of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackery), and Pravin Raut, a close ally, bail while declaring their arrest “illegal.”
However, “all this plainly reflects unfairness, pick-and-choose mindset of the ED and the court cannot put premium on the same,” the court said, adding that it was “legally required to make parity.”
A few months back, Sanjay Raut was detained by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) following more than six hours of interrogation in the Rs 1,034 crore Patra Chawl land fraud case. After the judge granted him release today, he left Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail.
While Pravin Raut was “arrested for a pure civil litigation, whereas Sanjay Raut for no reason,” the court said in its judgement. The court declared in its ruling, “This is an undeniable reality. Even at the bail stage, the court has a legal obligation and duty to get the whole story.”
The court stated that the Rauts had “absolutely no concern in generating POC or laundering money well as indulging in the criminal activities relating to the scheduled offence, were arrested for subsequent transactions, they have made from their own money,” whereas the Wadhawans were allegedly involved in producing proceeds of crime (POC).
The ED has cited claims that Sanjay Raut had attended meetings pertaining to Patra Chawl. High-ranking MHADA (the housing body in Maharashtra) and government officials had also attended these meetings, but the court remarked that they had not been charged or even detained despite MHADA’s allegedly questionable behavior from 2007 till the present. However, just Sanjay Raut was detained, leaving out other MHADA and government officials.
The judge also pointed out that Sanjay Raut’s midnight arrest was not required by law. The court ruled that a summons rather than his late-night arrest may have been used to ensure his presence.
Sanjay Raut was allegedly summoned by the ED, but he requested time to appear and was thus dodging the organization. The court, however, ruled that “it could not be the justification to exercise power of arrest with such extremity” because Rakesh Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan, the primary defendants, had never been detained by the ED. Therefore, I firmly believe that both of the accused (Rauts) being arrested is unquestionably illegal.
Sanjay Raut claimed in his bail request that the ED had provided evidence of Pravin Raut’s alleged proceeds of crime, totaling Rs. 112 crores, in two ECIRs (Enforcement Case Information Report). Pravin Raut is the subject of one ECIR from the PMC Bank scandal, which was filed in 2019, and another ECIR from the Patra Chawl scam, which was filed in 2021.
The judge remarked, “Pure civil disagreements cannot automatically gain this status by being labelled as “money-laundering” or “in Economic Offence,” which would then place an innocent person in a terrible predicament under the pretense of arrest.
No matter who stands in front of the court, it must do what is right.”
The prosecution’s poor progress in cases brought under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act was also noted by the court.
Since the establishment of this dedicated court, the ED has not concluded a single trial by presenting evidence, and the Court may have done so. not make a single verdict right from the last decade. Since the inception and throughout the terms of all my predecessors, there has never been a single ruling following a thorough trial in this court, the court declared.