SC orders shifting of Ex- Unitech owners from Tihar to Mumbai jail

The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the shifting of former Unitech promoters Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra from Tihar jail to Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail and Taloja Jail. The order came after the Enforcement Directorate informed the court that it has found a "secret underground office" in South Delhi's Green Park that is being used by Unitech founder Ramesh Chandra and visited by his sons Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra "while on parole or bail". The judges also pulled up the Tihar Jail authorities for acting in connivance with the Chandra brothers and engaging in illegal activities flouting the jail manual and derailing the investigation.

The ED has filed two status reports in the matter saying the contents of the communication between the accused and persons outside have raised serious concerns. The report has also said that the jail staff may be part of the conspiracy if the contents of the letter stand true. The agency said the brothers, in connivance with Tihar jail authorities, are conducting illegal activities, including contacting witnesses in the case, while being in jail. They have also been freely communicating with the outside world, instructing their officials, and disposing of their properties.The top court ordered an investigation into the matter by the Commissioner of the Delhi Police. Additional solicitor general Madhavi Divan, appearing for the ED informed a  bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah that Chandras’ had asked their officials outside the jail to communicate their instructions to those outside.

The agency have recovered hundreds of original sale deeds from that office, hundreds of digital signatures and several computers which contain sensitive data with regard to their properties in India and abroad,” Divan told the bench. She said the probe agency had submitted two status reports in sealed cover to the court and had provisionally attached Unitech Ltd properties worth  Rs 600 crore both in India and abroad. Both Sanjay and Ajay are accused of allegedly siphoning home buyers' money. The top court in its October 2017 order had asked them to deposit  Rs 750 crore with the apex court registry by December 31, 2017. The apex court had also dismissed the bail application of Chandra’s brother Ajay Chandra, who is in jail since August 2017.