Former Haryana MLA Chhoker’s arrest upheld in money laundering case

The case stems from allegations that Chhoker’s family-controlled Mahira Group, including Sai Aaina Farms Pvt Ltd (now Mahira Infratech Pvt Ltd), siphoned off ₹363 crore from homebuyers in a stalled affordable housing project in Gurugram’s Sector 68. The ED had registered an enforcement case in November 2021, treating four FIRs—related to cheating, forgery, and violations of Haryana’s urban development laws—as predicate offences under the PMLA.

Chhoker, 64, was apprehended on May 4, 2025, around 9:30 pm at New Delhi’s Shangri-La Hotel while dining. He alleged in court that ED officials manhandled him during the arrest. According to his petition, Joint Director Navneet Aggarwal and Assistant Director Gautam Barai dragged him out, tore his shirt collar, twisted his arm causing a fractured elbow, and pushed him into a vehicle where his head struck the door pillar. He claimed no first aid was given and that his arrest was formally recorded only after midnight.

“He has been treated in a high-handed and most arbitrary manner by arresting him from a Hotel around 09:30 pm on 04.05.2025, after being manhandled and brutally assaulted by the ED officials leading to grievous injuries, and a fractured left elbow,” senior advocate Vikram Chaudhri, appearing for Chhoker, argued before the court.

The ED countered that the arrest was lawful, carried out under open-ended non-bailable warrants issued on January 24, 2025, following a Division Bench order directing Chhoker’s “forthwith” arrest. Officials told the court that he was shown a digital copy of the warrant but tried to flee from the hotel bar and was stopped at the gate after resistance. They denied assault, instead accusing him of attacking officers, which led to cross-FIRs.

Justice Dahiya rejected the assault claims at this stage, observing: “The allegations regarding the petitioner’s manhandling and assault cannot be believed to be true merely on the basis of averments and documents in the petition, as facts in that regard are disputed.” He said such issues could only be tested at trial and did not invalidate the arrest itself.

On the question of procedure, the court held that Section 19 PMLA had been complied with. Chhoker was informed of the grounds of arrest and provided copies, while “reasons to believe” were recorded and forwarded to the Special Judge. Referring to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Arvind Kejriwal v. Directorate of Enforcement, the judgment noted: “The exercise is confined to ascertain whether the ‘reasons to believe’ are based upon material which ‘establish’ that the arrestee is guilty of an offence under the PML Act.” The judge found the ED’s material on fund siphoning rational and fair.

The court also upheld remand orders extending Chhoker’s ED custody before judicial remand. “To unearth this money trail custodial interrogation was required, and this Court has no reason to disbelieve the same at this stage,” the judgment stated.

Rejecting arguments that his earlier cooperation barred his arrest, the court pointed out that six non-bailable warrants had been issued against him between October 2023 and March 2025 and that his cooperation had been inconsistent. “He remained non-cooperative throughout and none of the six NBWs could be executed. Besides, the ED is on record stating that he is accused of concealing true nature of the proceeds of crime and using the same for personal and family members’ expenses, apart from siphoning off the proceeds in the form of loans and by acquiring properties,” said Justice Dahiya.

The petition was dismissed, and pending applications disposed of.

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