Punjab Industries Minister Sanjeev Arora on Tuesday approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), calling the action “arbitrary, mechanical, without jurisdiction, and in violation of constitutional safeguards” under Articles 14, 21, and 22 of the Constitution of India.
Arora, who was arrested from his official residence in Chandigarh on May 9, has been booked under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. His petition before the High Court seeks immediate release from what he has described as “illegal and unconstitutional custody,” along with a plea to stay the arrest and quash the subsequent remand order issued in the case.
The matter is being heard by a Bench comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry. According to court records, a Special Judge (PMLA) in Gurugram has already remanded Arora to ED custody until May 16, extending the agency’s interrogation period. The investigation is linked to allegations of money laundering involving the alleged conversion of industrial land for residential development.
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The Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at multiple locations on May 9, including premises in Chandigarh and the Delhi-NCR region. Among the sites searched was Arora’s official ministerial residence in Chandigarh. Officials have stated that similar raids were carried out earlier in April as part of the ongoing investigation.
The case has also triggered a political reaction in Punjab, with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann accusing the central government and the BJP of misusing investigative agencies. In a post on social media platform X, Mann said repeated ED raids had failed to yield any findings and described the action as politically motivated, while asserting that Punjab would resist such pressure.
Arora, a legislator from Ludhiana (West), was earlier subjected to ED searches in 2024 when he was serving as a Rajya Sabha member. The current case continues to develop as legal proceedings unfold in the High Court and the ED’s custody period nears its conclusion.
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