Supreme Court seeks ED’s response on plea by IREO MD Lalit Goyal to relax bail conditions

The Supreme Court on Monday sought the response of Enforcement Directorate to a plea by IREO Director Lalit Goyal, an accused in a ₹1,780 crore money laundering case, seeking relaxation of bail conditions imposed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court and later modified by the apex court in May 2022 [Lalit Goyal vs Directorate of Enforcement & Others]..Goyal has requested permission to reside anywhere in India and exemption from the requirement of marking weekly attendance before the Investigating Officer.A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymala Bagchi issued notice to ED on the plea and asked the agency to file its response by July 28. "Issue notice, returnable on 28.07.2025. Mr. Zoheb Hossain, Adv. accepts notice on behalf of Directorate of Enforcement," the Court said in its order. .Lalit Goyal was granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in April 2022. However, the Court imposed several conditions, including that Goyal must reside either in Gurugram or Chandigarh. He was also directed to mark his presence before the Investigating Officer of the Enforcement Directorate twice a week via video conference. Additionally, the Court restrained him from disposing of or alienating any of his properties.Subsequently, Goyal approached the Supreme Court challenging the conditions imposed by the High Court. While upholding the grant of bail, the Supreme Court modified a key condition by replacing the requirement of marking presence with the ED via video conference. Instead, it directed Goyal to report physically once a week, either in Gurugram or Delhi..In the fresh application, Goyal sought modification of this order, citing his continued compliance — over 132 appearances before the ED — and deteriorating health. He contended that further physical appearances serve no effective, meaningful or useful purpose and will only cause "undue inconvenience and harassment.”Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing fort Goyal, informed the Supreme Court that while bail had been granted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, it came with certain restrictive conditions.In response to the Court’s query on the interim relief being sought, Rohatgi submitted that the petitioner seeks modification of the High Court’s order to relax the condition confining him to stay only in Gurugram or Chandigarh. He urged the Court to allow Goyal to reside anywhere within the country.Additionally, Rohatgi requested that Goyal be exempt from the requirement of marking his presence with the Investigating Officer.The Court listed the matter on July 28 for further consideration..Apart from Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, advocates Manohar Pratap, Kalyani Bhide, Tannavi Sharma, Sidak Singh Anand and Himanshu Kasturi appeared for the petitioner.Advocates Zoheb Hossain and Annam Venkat appeared for the Enforcement Directorate..[Read Order].[Read Live Coverage]