Mumbai: Bombay High Court has directed Enforcement Directorate (ED) to release a sealed bank locker and hand over its possession along with the seized documents to a petitioner who lives in South Mumbai and whose assets were attached in connection with a case ED investigated against Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd.The petitioner’s advocate, Ashutosh Singh, argued in the court that ED could not continue to retain the seized articles or freeze the locker beyond 180 days without confirmation of the attachment by the adjudicating authority. ED also didn’t contest the fact that the 180-day period had lapsed, after which the court passed the order.An FIR was filed at Wada police station against Indiabulls, based on which ED, too, had registered a money laundering case. During the investigation, ED found the petitioner’s link to proceeds of crime and attached his locker along with documents. In May 2022, High Court quashed the FIR and the money laundering case against Indiabulls. ED had approached Supreme Court, but it disposed of its plea in 2024.Meanwhile, the businessman’s attached assets remained under the ED attachment and he had approached High Court for their release.
