Vasai-Virar ex-civic chief's arrest by ED 'illegal', says Bombay HC; orders his release

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday held as "illegal" the arrest of Anil Pawar, former chief of the Vasai-Virar civic body near Mumbai, by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case, and ordered the authorities to release him.

A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad said the ED did not have "tangible material" required for his arrest.

"We have formed an opinion that as on August 13, 2025, the arresting officer has no such material as required under section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (reason to believe that person is guilty of offence)," the HC said.

"We mean that there is no tangible material and the whole case of ED is based on statement of certain architects and developers," the bench said.

Pawar was arrested by the ED on August 13. The former chief of the Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) in Palghar district had moved the HC challenging his arrest in the case and subsequent orders passed by a special court remanding him to judicial custody.

The high court on Wednesday quashed the special court's orders too.

"The petition succeeds to the extent that the arrest of petitioner on August 13 is illegal. The orders passed by the special judge remanding him are quashed. The petitioner shall be released," the HC said.

After the order was pronounced, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh who was appearing for the ED, sought a stay on it, but the request was declined by the high court.

Pawar is accused of conniving with builders and developers by which 41 illegal buildings were constructed in Vasai and Virar.

Pawar's counsel Rajiv Shakdher argued that the ED's case relates to 41 unauthorised constructions that came up between 2008 and 2021, while Pawar took over as VVCMC chief only in January 2022.

The ED claimed that Pawar was central to a laundering racket worth hundreds of crores, supported by builder testimonies, WhatsApp chats and cash trail analysis.

It alleged that senior civic officials, including Pawar, took hefty bribes to overlook rampant illegal constructions across nearly 60 acres.

A corruption case was lodged against Pawar and others, following which the ED began its money laundering probe.

The probe agency has so far arrested four people in the case - Pawar, VVCMC town planner Y Shiva Reddy and two builders - Sitaram Gupta and Arun Gupta. They are all in judicial custody.

The case pertains to illegal construction of residential and commercial buildings on government and private land under the jurisdiction of VVCMC.

The probe agency alleged that over a period of time, 41 illegal buildings were constructed on the private and government land reserved for Sewage Treatment Plant and Dumping Ground as per the approved development plan of Vasai-Virar, a twin-city located on Mumbai's outskirts.

The accused developers have looted the general public at large by constructing illegal buildings and subsequently selling it to them by fabricating approval documents, the ED said.

The developers deceived buyers by selling rooms in these buildings, in spite of knowing that the structures were unauthorised and slated for demolition and thereby committing fraud.

The chargesheet filed by the ED said Pawar, during his tenure as commissioner of VVCMC from January 2022 to July 2025, "acted as chief Controller and key person of illegal unauthorised constructions".

Contrary to his legal obligations, Pawar actively facilitated and expanded the very network he was mandated to dismantle, the ED said.