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‘Thousands of homebuyers running from pillar to post’: Delhi court denies bail to former Jaypee Infratech chief

Manoj Gaur was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate last year in a Rs 13,800 crore money-laundering case

Nearly 25,000 homebuyers have been left in the lurch due to non-delivery of their homes.Nearly 25,000 homebuyers have been left in the lurch due to non-delivery of their homes. (Express File Photo)

Stating that thousands of homebuyers are now running from pillar to post while the accused is enjoying the proceeds of crime, a Delhi court Monday denied bail to former CMD of Jaypee Infratech Ltd, Manoj Gaur.

Gaur was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on November 13 last year in connection with a 2018 money-laundering case involving the alleged diversion of close to Rs 13,800 crore.

The case began after homebuyers of Jaypee Wishtown and Jaypee Greens projects filed complaints with the Economic Offences Wings (EOW) in Delhi and UP. Nearly 25,000 homebuyers have been left in the lurch due to non-delivery of their homes.

“Thousands of home buyers, who had invested their hard-earned money in pursuit of a dream home, are running from pillar to post. On the other hand, the accused was enjoying the proceeds of crime by layering alleged business transactions,” said Additional Sessions Judge Dhirendra Rana of Patiala House Court in his February 16 order.

“By no stretch of imagination, constructing a race track can be related to the purpose of building a housing project. Innocent home buyers were never informed that their money would be used in such projects,” ASJ Rana added.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court has asked Gaur, who was out on interim bail, to surrender in two days.

The case

According to the ED, two companies, M/s Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) and M/s Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL), collected over Rs 33,000 crore for the construction and completion of residential projects in Noida and Greater Noida, but allegedly diverted over Rs 13,000 crore for other purposes.

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The agency claimed that Gaur’s role was central in the planning and execution of the diversion of funds “through a complex web of transactions within the Jaypee Group and its associated entities”. It also “found” several transactions in which Gaur had been involved.

The ED, represented in the district court by Special Public Prosecutor Atul Tripathi and in the Delhi HC by Standing Counsel Rahul Tyagi, filed a chargesheet in the case in January 2026.

As per the agency, while Rs 125.5 crore was allegedly diverted from JIL to Jaiprakash Sewa Sansthan (JSS), another Rs 430 crore each was “diverted” from JIL towards investment in share capital of Jaypee Healthcare Ltd and Jaypee Sports International Ltd. through JAL. The agency claimed Rs 4,166 crore was diverted to the Yamuna Expressway.

“Out of 159 towers proposed to be developed, construction activity [with] respect to 97 towers was stalled and no work had been undertaken on those towers. Meaning… 60% of the construction work remained incomplete on the ground, which is the outcome of diversion of funds collected from homebuyers and investors,” ASJ Rana said.

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On the other hand, Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing Gaur, argued that the ED didn’t interrogate the accused in custody and that he appeared before the agency on each occasion and provided all the documents but was arrested “in haste” after “a lapse of seven years”.

He also argued that the ED had not arrayed the company as an accused in this complaint. The vicarious liability couldn’t be selectively imposed upon the accused, he argued.

On January 24, the trial court had granted Gaur interim bail on the grounds of his mother being on the “deathbed”. On Tuesday, Gaur’s interim bail was extended by three days by the HC.

On Wednesday, the HC directed him to surrender by Thursday after Standing Counsel Tyagi withdrew the petition challenging the interim bail granted to Gaur.

Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023. Professional Background Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University. Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories. Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts. Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials. Recent notable articles In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories. 1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.  2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation. 3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police. Signature Style Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public. X (Twitter): @Nirbhaya99 ... Read More

 

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