Patiala House judge's 3 am hearing sends realtor to ED custody in PM Awas Yojana-linked laundering case

Enforcement Directorate

Around 3 am on Friday, an unusual courtroom scene unfolded at the residence of additional sessions judge Shefali Barnala Tandon of Patiala House Courts. Proceedings were convened there so that the Enforcement Directorate could present Swaraj Singh Yadav -- promoter of Ocean Seven Buildtech Pvt Ltd -- within the 24-hour window mandated by the Supreme Court and various high courts. ED told the judge that the search for the arrestee started at 6.55 am, and he has to be produced before the court within 24 hours of the search,” explaining why Yadav appeared “at this odd hour”.

By the time the agency completed its daylong search on Thursday and held Yadav just before midnight, arrangements had already been set in motion for the early-morning hearing. At 3.05 am the court began proceedings, even as the accused’s legal counsel was still on the way. Arguments from both sides continued until 6.30 am, after which the judge sent Yadav to ED custody until November 28. She also directed that he be produced at exactly 2 pm on that date.

According to ED, Yadav orchestrated “a nationwide money laundering scam since 2006, duping thousands of buyers in Mumbai, Jaipur, Kotputli and Gurugram”. FIRs filed with Delhi Police allege that about Rs 222 crore collected from homebuyers was siphoned off after being routed through an “in-house construction agency”. The agency claims that the funds came from the illegal sale of apartments originally allotted under the PM Awas Yojana in Gurugram. These units, priced at Rs 26.5 lakh each for the intended beneficiaries, were allegedly taken from the original allottees -- without refunding their deposits -- and then sold to new buyers for Rs 40-50 lakh.

ED maintained that Yadav converted these proceeds into personal and corporate assets. The agency listed 500 acres in Ware village in Maharashtra, another 100 acres on the Pune-Alibag Road, Sai Rupa Resorts in Himachal Pradesh’s Tirthan Valley, land in Boston in the US, and multiple financial assets in the UK as properties linked to him. It also argued that “the concerted and accelerated liquidation of both personal and company-held assets” showed an attempt to evade legal action. Investigators pointed out recent sales, including a flat in Jalvayu Vihar in Gurugram, 40 acres in Borgaon in Maharashtra and 15 acres in Jaipur.

ED additionally told the court that Yadav’s wife, Sunita Swaraj, had moved to the US in August 2025, and that large sums were transferred there through her Bank of Baroda account. With his children studying at Trinity College in Connecticut, the agency warned there was a strong likelihood of Yadav attempting to flee.