New Delhi: On Friday, Robert Vadra, in the Patiala House Court, filed an anticipatory bail plea in a money laundering case which was expected to be around 10 AM on Saturday. At the time of reporting no news of hearing was received.

Pertaining to a property in London, Manoj Arora, his close aide, is being tried in a money laundering case. Earlier, Arora had told a court through his lawyer that since Robert Vadra is his employee, he was being forced to name him.

Vadra and his partners in Skylight Hospitality Private Limited, including his mother Maureen Vadra were asked by the Rajasthan High Court last month to appear before the Enforcement Directorate on February 12. They were asked to explain his stand on the money laundering allegations by the firm, a PTI report had said.

Just three days after a Delhi court had granted Arora interim protection from arrest, on January 14, he joined the ED probe in the case. After that, the Patiala House Court had extended his protection till February 6. 

The fact that a company had given loans to the Vadra at a higher cost to buy land in Bikaner and, as a result, the firm got a massive income tax relief from the Income Tax Settlement Commission was found out in an investigation which was made in late November. The Enforcement Directorate had sought details of the proceedings from the Settlement Commission on the same land deal case.

 On November 30, an investigative report by The Indian Express stated that the Enforcement Directorate had sought details from the Settlement Commission on transactions by Bhushan Power & Steel Limites (BPSL). In 2011-12, a Delhi-based firm – Allegeny Finlease Pvt. Ltd was given a loan of Rs 5.64 crore by the BPSL, and then the firm had bought land in Bikaner on behalf of Vadra-owned Sky Light Hospitality.

Readers may recall that in 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign led by Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi had made 'Jijaji'. A prime weapon to attack the then ruling party, Congress. However, the Haryana government dragged its feet on the cases against Vadra even as the ED went slowly on creating a strong case of the prosecution. But with Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi out on bail in the National Herald case, the first family of India's oldest party is in real legal trouble.