In a setback to businessman Robert Vadra, son-in-law of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, the Rajasthan High Court, on Thursday, quashed his two petitions seeking a copy of the ECIR (Enforcement Case Information Report) of the ED (Enforcement Directorate).

The court, however, has given a stay on his custodial interrogation by the ED in the alleged fraudulent purchase of 275 bighas of land in Bikaner’s Kolayat town.

In its judgement, a single bench of Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati ordered that the stay on Vadra’s arrest will remain in force for a fortnight to allow him to appeal in a higher court, according to the Additional Solicitor General Rajdeepak Rastogi.

“ECIR report is not even an FIR nor prompts any action be taken by the ED, but a fact finding report. And if required, the ED can lodge an FIR under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 against the accused,” Rastogi told SNS when contacted.

The counsel of Vadra filed the petition in the high court to quash ECIR, which was not the FIR but just an inquiry on the complaint by the ED. The ASG strongly opposed the petition on behalf of the ED, stating that ECIR was not an FIR but just a procedure for inquiry nor it could lead directly to the arrest, and hence the stay on his arrest be quashed.

It is pertinent to mention that the ED is probing the case regarding the purchase of 275 bighas of land by the partners of Skylight Hospitality Private Limited in Kolayat town in Bikaner district. In 2016, the Bikaner Police had registered an FIR in Kolayat in connection with the alleged fraudulent purchase of the government land.

After the case was registered, the investigation was taken over by the CBI, which is still underway. The ED had also registered an ECIR in the Bikaner land scam. The central probe agency had registered a money laundering case in 2016 on the basis of an FIR lodged by the police following a complaint by a local Tehsildar.

The ED had earlier presented an application before the High Court to lift the interim stay on Vadra’s arrest. On February 12, 2019, the ED interrogated Vadra and his mother Maureen on the directions of the High Court.