Court directs immediate return of cars, jewellery, cash, and title deeds after ED secures proceeds of crime through provisional attachment; clarifies no comment on merits of attachment order.
In a significant development in the ongoing Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case, the Delhi High Court has directed the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) to release seized assets including luxury cars, jewellery, cash, fixed deposits, and title deeds to the petitioners associated with the M3M Group of Companies. The writ petition, filed by Roop Bansal and others, challenged the seizure memos and freezing of bank accounts issued by the ED during its investigation.
The matter came before Justice Mini Pushkarna, who noted that during the pendency of the petition, the ED had issued a Provisional Attachment Order dated 17th July 2026, attaching unencumbered land parcels belonging to the petitioners valued at Rs. 404 crores. The petitioners asserted through an affidavit that these properties were free from any encumbrances, liens, or third-party claims.
Importantly, the ED admitted in its counter affidavit that with the provisional attachment securing properties worth Rs. 404 crores, the alleged proceeds of crime were sufficiently secured. Consequently, the ED stated that the earlier seized items - including cash, jewellery, vehicles, and fixed deposits - were no longer part of the ongoing investigation.
After evaluating the submissions and the ED's counter affidavit, the Court ordered the immediate release of these seized assets detailed in four tables submitted by the ED, covering:
- Table 1: Luxury vehicles such as Audi Q7, Ferrari SF90 Stradale, Rolls Royce Phantom and Cullinan, Lamborghini Urus, Bentley Bentayga, Mercedes Maybach, and others owned by various M3M group entities and individuals.
- Table 2: Cash amounting to INR 16,88,300/-.
- Table 3: Gold, diamond, and silver jewellery and bullion valued at approximately Rs. 5.77 crores seized from the petitioners.
- Table 4: Fixed deposits worth Rs. 17 crores held by M3M India Private Limited.
The Court also directed that the title deeds of the parcel of land previously deposited before the Court pursuant to an earlier order dated 12th June 2023 be released to the petitioners, clarifying these lands were not subject to the recent provisional attachment.
Justice Pushkarna explicitly stated that the order for release of seized assets should not be construed as any expression on the merits of the provisional attachment order or the pending PMLA proceedings against the M3M Group.
This decision underscores the judiciary's balancing act between safeguarding alleged proceeds of crime and protecting property rights pending final adjudication under the PMLA framework.
The writ petition and all pending applications were accordingly disposed of by the Court on 14th October 2026.
Bottom Line:
Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 - Where during pendency of writ petition ED provisionally attached unencumbered properties of petitioners worth Rs. 404 crores and itself stated in counter affidavit that proceeds of crime attributable to M3M Group stood secured and seized cash, jewellery, vehicles and fixed deposits were no longer part of investigation - Court directed release forthwith of seized assets and also release of title deeds earlier deposited before Court - Clarified that order does not express any opinion on merits of provisional attachment order or pending PMLA proceedings.
Statutory provision(s): Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 Sections 5(1), 17; Constitution of India, Article 226; Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 Section 482
Roop Bansal v. Union of India, (Delhi) : Law Finder Doc Id # 2998596
