Sanjay Raut's judicial custody extended till November 9

A special court here on Wednesday reserved its order on the bail plea filed by Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, arrested in a money laundering case, and said it would pronounce the order on November 9.

Raut was produced before the court which extended his judicial custody till November 9.

Special Judge M G Deshpande, designated to hear cases pertaining to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), said it would also pass an order on November 9 on the bail plea filed by Pravin Raut, a co-accused in the case.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut in July this year for his alleged role in financial irregularities in connection with the redevelopment of the Patra Chawl (row tenement) in suburban Goregaon area. He is presently in judicial custody and lodged at the Arthur Road Jail in central Mumbai. He had last month sought bail in the case, which the ED opposed.

The ED probe pertains to alleged financial irregularities in the redevelopment of the Patra Chawl and related financial transactions involving his wife and associates.

Siddharth Nagar, popularly known as the Patra Chawl, in Goregaon is spread over 47 acres and houses 672 tenant families.

In 2008, the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), a government agency, assigned a redevelopment contract for the Chawl to Guru Ashish Construction Private Limited (GACPL), a sister company of the Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL). The GACPL was supposed to build 672 flats for the tenants and also give some flats to MHADA.

It was free to sell the remaining land to private developers. But the tenants did not get a single flat in the last 14 years as the company did not redevelop the Patra Chawl and sold land parcels and Floor Space Index (FSI) to other builders for Rs 1,034 crore, as per the ED.