New Delhi [India], June 10 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Monday rejected the interim and regular bail pleas of Vedpal Singh Tanwar in a money laundering case. He is an accused in a case linked to illegal sand and stone mining in the Dadam area of Haryana.

The High Court dismissed the bail plea in view of the material placed on record by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Justice Girish Kathpalia dismissed the bail plea after hearing the submissions of the ED and material placed on record.

Justice Kathpalia said, 'I am unable to satisfy myself that there is any reasonable ground for believing that the accused/applicant is not guilty of the offences alleged. That being so, the rigours of Section 45 of the PML Act dissuade this court from admitting the accused/applicant to bail on merits.'

After perusing the medical status report of May 2, 2025, which compiled medical reports of hospitals including AIIMS, the bench rejected the interim bail plea of Tanwar.

'According to the said Medical Status Report, the accused applicant is stable and regularly reviewed by the doctor on duty, and all medicines prescribed by AIIMS are being provided to him from the jail dispensary itself. So, on that count also, the accused/applicant has failed to establish a ground for grant of bail,' Justice Kathpalia said in the order passed on June 9.

While rejecting the bail pleas, the High Court said that there was a huge loss of Rs 78 crore to the government exchequer.

The court noted that the documentary record reflected the unlawful gain to the accused persons, including Tanwar, and the unlawful loss to the exchequer to the time of Rs 78,14,75,324.

Justice Kathpalia also said that no serious health issue decipherable from the Medical Status Report received from the jail, 'I find it not a fit case to release the accused/applicant on bail. The applications (for regular as well as for interim bail) are dismissed.'

The bail pleas were opposed by ED's special counsel Zoheb Hossain.

Special counsel Zoheb Hosain for ED, while opposing the bail plea, had submitted that the accused is not in long incarceration as he was admitted in the interim bail and was in the hospital for a considerable time. There is a 165-day effective incarceration only. He is medically fit.

An FIR was registered in August 2023 at Tosham. ECIR was registered in September 2023. Tanwar was Arrested in May 2024.

ED's counsel argued that the alleged offences under section 420 (Cheating) and section 120B (Criminal Conspiracy) were part of the ECIR.

There is illegal stone mining in this case. Allegations of cheating are there. Fraudulent representation was made to government as Tanwar was blacklisted by the Haryana government, Zoheb Hosain said.

His firm Ridhi Siddhi was blacklisted by the Haryana Government. He was not allowed to participate in mining auctions. He was blacklisted, he can't bid, Hossain added.

Hussain further argued that Tanwar did it through another firm, Goverdhan Mining and Mineral (GMM). Tanwar was controlling the affairs of that firm. He was the CEO of GMM and drew a salary of Rs 10 lakh per month.

On the other hand, senior advocate Vikas Pahwa advanced rebuttal arguments for Tanwar. He submitted that Cognizance is not taken against Tanwar. Prima facie, there is no Offence against him.

NGT order is set aside. FIR is pending. The special director of ED becomes the complainant, she is the informant, the senior advocate added.

Tanwar has moved a plea through advocate Sumer Singh Boparai and Aman Sharma.

ED had arrested Ved Pal Singh Tanwar under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, on May 30, 2024, in connection with illegal mining in the Dadam area of Haryana.

As per ED, it initiated an investigation on the basis of the Prosecution Complaint filed by the Regional Officer, Haryana State Pollution Control Board, Bhiwani, before the Special Environment Court, Kurukshetra, against the Firm M/s. Govardhan Mines and Minerals for violating the conditions of Environment Clearance under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and subsequently, an FIR was registered by Haryana Police under various sections of IPC, 1860.

ED said that the investigation revealed that the firm had been involved in large-scale illegal and unscientific mining in the Dadam area of Haryana. It had led to large-scale damage to the environment and a huge loss to the exchequer. It is worth mentioning here that rampant illegal mining in the area led to the killing of five persons due to landslides, ED said in a press note. (ANI)