In a major relief for 213 beleaguered home-buyers, the Jaipur zonal office of the directorate of enforcement (ED), has successfully restituted the unsold inventory of the Royal Rajvilas (RRV) project in Udaipur, valued at around Rs175 crore, to the successful resolution applicant of Udaipur Entertainment World Pvt Ltd (UEWPL). The restitution marks the culmination of over 12 years of struggle for home-buyers who had invested their savings in the project but were left in limbo due to financial fraud and prolonged litigation.
The restitution follows a directive from the Supreme Court which commended ED’s proactive role in balancing the objectives of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, with the interests of bona fide home-buyers. The apex court observed, “We place on record our appreciation for the efforts made by the learned counsel for the parties and ED in restoring the attached properties to secure the interests of genuine and innocent home-buyers.”
ED’s investigation originated from three first information reports (FIRs) and a charge-sheet filed by central bureau of investigation (CBI) in a Syndicate Bank fraud case involving Bharat Bomb and others. The accused allegedly defrauded Syndicate Bank (now Canara Bank) of Rs1,267.79 crore between 2011 and 2016 using forged cheques, fake inland bills and falsified insurance policies.
In connection with the fraud, ED had attached properties worth about Rs535 crore under various provisional attachment orders (PAOs), including unsold and unregistered inventory from UEWPL valued at Rs83.51 crore, attached on 2 April 2019.
This attachment, however, led to a legal tangle involving multiple forums, as UEWPL was subsequently admitted into a corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) by the Mumbai bench of national company law tribunal (NCLT) on 16 April 2021. The petition had been filed by an initial group of Royal Rajvilas home-buyers under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016.
NCLT, Mumbai, approved the resolution plan for UEWPL on 24 February 2022 and, in the same order, vacated ED’s property attachment. However, ED had not been made a party to those proceedings.
Subsequently, the Rajasthan High Court intervened, staying the NCLT’s order on 6 July 2023, observing that the tribunal lacked jurisdiction to overturn an attachment issued under PMLA by the adjudicating authority. This stay was briefly vacated in September 2024, but later restored on 28 March 2025, after the High Court took note of ED’s contention that its statutory rights under PMLA had not been duly considered.
Faced with protracted litigation between ED and UEWPL, the new management of the company approached the Supreme Court through special leave petition, challenging the Rajasthan High Court’s order.
During the proceedings, the Supreme Court urged both parties to arrive at a consensus to safeguard the interests of genuine home-buyers who had been waiting for over a decade to receive possession of their flats.
Acting on the apex court’s guidance, ED engaged with the resolution professional and new management of UEWPL, reviewing the details of home-buyers whose claims had been verified and admitted by NCLT. The agency then submitted a no objection for restitution of the attached properties in favour of bona fide home-buyers—excluding 11 flats worth Rs8.65 crore linked to proceeds of crime.
Recognising the complex legal interplay between IBC and PMLA, ED opted for a balanced resolution that would neither compromise the spirit of anti-money laundering laws nor further delay justice for affected homebuyers. After verifying the claims of 221 home-buyers, the agency supported the restitution process for 213 of them.
On 10 October 2025, the Supreme Court passed an order under Section 8(8) of the PMLA, 2002, directing the restitution of attached properties to the successful resolution applicant of UEWPL for the exclusive benefit of genuine and innocent home-buyers. The order clarified that it was passed on the unique facts of this case and would not serve as a precedent for future matters.
ED noted that its actions were guided by the restorative intent of PMLA’s Section 8(8), which empowers the agency to return attached assets to rightful claimants. The agency has developed mechanisms to identify genuine victims, verify claims, and expedite restitution while maintaining legal safeguards.
In its statement, ED says the successful restitution of Royal Rajvilas assets underscores its dual commitment to punitive enforcement and restorative justice, ensuring that victims of financial crimes receive tangible relief.
The agency emphasised that such efforts are integral to maintaining public confidence in India’s financial enforcement system and reaffirmed its continued resolve to act decisively against economic offenders while safeguarding the rights of genuine victims.
With this restitution, 213 families who invested in Royal Rajvilas nearly 12 years ago can, finally, hope to receive their long-delayed homes. ED’s collaborative and legally sound approach has not only brought closure to one of Udaipur’s most prolonged real estate disputes but also set a constructive example of coordination between enforcement and insolvency mechanisms.
