New Delhi, July 5 -- A Delhi special court on Saturday declared UK-based arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari a Fugitive Economic Offender under the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act, in connection with an income tax case involving undisclosed foreign assets.

The order was passed by Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal following a plea by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which alleged that Bhandari had deliberately evaded Indian legal proceedings and possessed foreign assets exceeding Rs 100 crore. The agency emphasised that the UK court's refusal to extradite Bhandari had no bearing on the current proceedings, which are independent and governed by Indian law.

Bhandari, however, contested the ED's plea, arguing that his residence in t...