CHANDIGARH: A special PMLA court in Panchkula on Tuesday stayed the trial proceedings against Roop Kumar Bansal, managing director of M3M Realty, in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case related to the Ireo group of companies.
The court, presided over by Rajeev Goyal, issued the stay following an application filed by Bansal last year. Bansal, who was arrested by the ED in 2022, had been facing trial in the case.
Defence counsel Yavneet Dhakla argued that there had been no progress in the FIR and presented examples of similar cases where courts had granted relief to accused individuals. Dhakla specifically cited the case involving former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, where the PMLA court paused proceedings due to the absence of a charge-sheet and ongoing investigations.
Dhakla also submitted a list of FIRs filed against the Ireo group and its associates, pointing out that several cases had been quashed, closure reports filed, or proceedings stayed.
Bansal’s name surfaced in the FIR filed by Haryana’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in June 2022, which led to the arrest of several individuals, including former CBI judge Sudhir Parmar, Bansal’s brother and nephew, and others. Bansal was later arrested in connection with the Ireo group case, and in Aug 2022, the ED filed a chargesheet against him, beginning the trial process. Bansal subsequently moved the court to pause the proceedings, which was granted.
