Delhi’s Patiala House Court extended the judicial custody of Manoj Gaur, former CMD of Jaypee Infratech, by 14 days until December 16. The ED is investigating him in a money laundering case involving the alleged diversion of homebuyers’ funds.
Delhi’s Parila House Court on Tuesday extended the judicial custody of Manoj Gaur, former CMD, Jaypee Infratech, for a further 14 days. He was produced before the court after expiry of his earlier judicial custody.
Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Dhirendra Rana extended the judicial custody of Manoj Gaur till December 16. ED moved an application seeking the extension of Judicial custody of Manoj Gaur. It was stated that the investigation is ongoing and the accused is required to be sent to judicial custody.
Special Public Prosecutor Atul Tripathi appeared for the agency. Advocate Dr. Farrukh Khan appeared for the accused Manoj Gaur. On November 13, the Court granted five days’ custody of Manoj Gaur to ED. After ED interrogation, he was remanded in judicial custody.
Defence Arguments Against Custody
ED earlier had submitted that it is a money laundering case related to the money of Home Buyers. Accused persons collected Rs. 13000 crores but did not use the same to give accommodation to home buyers. Counsels for the accused had opposed the remand sought by the ED. It was submitted that the ECIR was lodged in 2018. An arrest has been made after almost seven years.
Advocate Dr. Farrukh Khan had submitted that the ECIR is of 2018. What stopped ED from 2018 to 2025? Now, Gaur has been illegally arrested. The counsel had further submitted that the accused appeared before the ED and cooperated in the investigation. He also sent an email to the IO and requested another date to appear. He was called and was made to sit till 8 pm, the counsel added.
JayPee Infratech Ltd. (JIL) went into insolvency in 2017, and the motion was passed. It was also submitted that there is no evasion on the part of Manoj Gaur. He is a sick man. When a company is dissolved, why should the man be sent in custody, counsel questioned. First FIR was lodged in 2017, and thereafter. My statement has been recorded, We are in the year 2025, counsel for the accused had argued.
It was further argued that the Ground of arrest is meaningful if they are able to mention the purpose of the arrest. It is not a case of custody remand, kindly consider the release of the accused, he added.
ED Justifies Need for Custody
The Court asked the ED, ” He has joined the investigation. What do you have to ask now? ED’s counsel Tripathi had submitted that there are many documents. He has submitted 10 thousand documents. Not providing more documents. We are investigating the matter before the companies approached the NCLT. The offences are prior to that, Tripathi said.
Being the key person in all companies involved, the counsel. We have the right to complete the investigation. We are seeking seven days’ custody only. We have to go forward, Counsel for ED had said.
It is not only JAL and JIL. We want to know where the funds were diverted, to know the role of other persons involved, the role of other entities, the ED had said. Dr. Farrukh opposed the submissions and submitted that it is not a murder case where Identification of the weapon is required.
Details of the Money Laundering Probe
ED had said that it had arrested Manoj Gaur, former Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of M/s Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. (JAL) and former Chairman and Managing Director of M/s Jaypee Infratech Ltd. (JIL), under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The arrest took place following a detailed investigation and analysis of evidence gathered during the ongoing probe in an ECIR recorded by the ED under PMLA in connection with the Jaypee Group, the agency said in a release.
It was also said that the ED initiated an investigation against the Jaypee group on the basis of multiple FIRs registered by the Economic Offences Wings (EOW) of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh Police, based on complaints filed by homebuyers of Jaypee Wishtown and Jaypee Greens projects, alleging criminal conspiracy, cheating, and criminal breach of trust against the company and its promoters. It is alleged that the funds collected from thousands of homebuyers for the construction and completion of residential projects were diverted for purposes other than construction, leaving the homebuyers defrauded and their projects incomplete, the agency added.
Alleged Diversion of Homebuyers’ Funds
ED investigation revealed that out of approximately Rs. 14,599 Crore collected by JAL and JIL from homebuyers (as per claims admitted by NCLT), substantial amounts were diverted for non-construction purposes and siphoned off to related group entities and trusts, including Jaypee Sewa Sansthan (JSS), M/s Jaypee Healthcare Ltd. (JHL), and M/s Jaypee Sports International Ltd. (JSIL), the ED said.
It has also been revealed during the investigation that Manoj Gaur is the Managing Trustee of Jaypee Sewa Sansthan (JSS), which received part of the diverted funds, the agency claimed.
Earlier, on 23 May 2025, the ED had conducted search operations at 15 locations in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Mumbai, including the offices and premises of M/s Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. and M/s Jaypee Infratech Ltd. During the searches, ED seized a large volume of financial and digital records, along with documents evidencing the offence of money laundering and diversion of funds, ED said.
The agency has alleged that the investigation has established the central role of Manoj Gaur in the planning and execution of the fund diversion through a complex web of transactions within the Jaypee Group and its associated entities. (ANI)
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