Overview
- The bench set aside the August 13 arrest and subsequent remand orders, directed Anil Pawar’s release with conditions, and declined the ED’s request for a stay.
- The detailed order notes no prima facie case for arrest, citing reliance on statements and WhatsApp chats, no incriminating recovery, and an unproven “codeword” bribe system.
- The judges clarified the ruling addresses arrest legality only, leaving the money-laundering prosecution intact as the ED weighs an appeal.
- The ED’s chargesheet names 18 accused and alleges ₹300.92 crore in proceeds of crime, including ₹169 crore linked to Pawar through a fixed per‑square‑foot commission network and family/front entities.
- Investigators have provisionally attached about ₹71 crore in assets (around ₹44 crore tied to Pawar) and previously seized nearly ₹9 crore in cash, ₹23.25 crore in jewellery and bullion, and froze about ₹13.86 crore in financial holdings.