Mumbai, 10 Oct

The ED told the Bombay High Court on Thursday that it would not act upon the eviction notices issued to actor Shilpa Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra till their application challenging a property attachment order is heard and decided by an appellate tribunal.

On September 27, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued notices to Shetty and her businessman husband, directing them to vacate their house in Mumbai's Juhu area and a farmhouse in Pune in connection with a money laundering case.

The duo challenged the same in the HC, terming it as arbitrary, illegal and uncalled for.

The notices were issued pursuant to an attachment order passed by the agency against the couple's properties.

A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan had on Wednesday asked the ED what was the urgency to issue an eviction notice after the attachment order was passed when the couple has a legal remedy to appeal against the order.

On Thursday, the ED told the court that the eviction notices shall not be acted upon till the petitioners file their appeal against the attachment order and the same is decided by the tribunal.

The bench accepted the statement and said in the event of an adverse order by the tribunal, the notices shall not be brought into effect for a period of two weeks thereafter.

The court disposed of the petitions.

Shetty and Kundra, in their petitions, challenged the ED notices dated September 27 directing them to evict their residential premises here and a farmhouse in Pune within 10 days in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged Bitcoin fraud.

The couple's advocate, Prashant Patil, said Shetty and Kundra received the eviction notices only on October 3. He termed the notices arbitrary and illegal and sought them to be quashed.

According to the pleas, there is no grave urgency for the petitioners to vacate their premises and that the issuance of such eviction notices was uncalled for.

"The petitioners are also seeking relief on humanitarian grounds as the premise in question is their residential premise in which they have been staying with their family of six members for almost two decades," the couple said in their pleas.

The petitions also demanded that the HC stay the effect of the eviction notices.

As per the pleas, the ED in 2018 lodged a complaint against one Amit Bhardwaj and others for an alleged Bitcoin fraud and on charges of money laundering. Shetty and her husband have not been named as accused in the case.

The ED, during its probe, summoned Kundra for questioning on several occasions. Kundra appeared before the agency after each summons, the pleas said.

In April 2024, Shetty and Kundra received a notice based on an order passed by the ED provisionally attaching their assets, including their residential premise in Mumbai's Juhu area which was purchased by Kundra's father in 2009.

Both Shetty and Kundra submitted their response to the notice.

"However, in contravention to the provisions of law, the adjudicating authority confirmed the provisional attachment order on September 18, 2024. This order clearly states that the attachment is confirmed only till the conclusion of trial and is subject to its outcome," the pleas said.

"The petitioners (Shetty and Kundra) on October 3 received two notices dated September 27, 2024, directing them to vacate their residential premises and the farmhouse," the couple said.

No eviction order/notice can be issued prior to conviction, the petitions said.

The couple in their pleas also said their residential premise has no connection with the scheduled offence or any proceeds of crime.

The petitions further claimed that Kundra had absolutely no connection with the alleged fraud. -PTI