MUMBAI, Sept. 23 -- A special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Monday ordered the issuance of process against builder Pravin Raut - a close aide of Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut and partner in M/s Prathamesh Developers LLP - and Jitendra Mehta, proprietor of Mehta Developers, in the Rs.1,039-crore Patra Chawl redevelopment scam. Issuance of process is a formal step by which a court summons or directs the presence of the accused, marking the commencement of criminal proceedings against them. In an order dated September 20, special judge Satyanarayan R Navander said prima facie evidence showed that both accused, along with their firms, played a role in the generation, diversion and laundering of illicit funds from the fraudulent redevelopment. The matter will now be heard on October 8, 2025. According to the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) complaint and supplementary charges, Guruashish Construction Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of HDIL, sold floor space index (FSI) to nine developers between 2010 and 2014, raising over Rs.1,048 crore. Instead of completing the promised rehabilitation of 672 tenants and construction of 3,000 flats for Mhada at Patra Chawl, most of the funds were allegedly siphoned off by HDIL directors Rakesh and Sarang Wadhawan and their associates, including Raut. The court observed that Prathamesh Developers LLP, where Raut holds a 70% stake, was used to "park, layer and project" diverted funds as legitimate income through the purchase of immovable properties. Raut, it noted, managed the day-to-day operations and controlled the firm's bank accounts. As for Mehta, described by the ED as a close aide of Rakesh Wadhawan, investigators said he channelled Rs.80-90 crore through his firm, Mehta Developers, to purchase 125 tenements, thereby fraudulently securing the 70% tenant consent required for redevelopment approvals. The court noted that Mehta also benefitted personally, receiving three flats in the names of himself, his wife and his mother without paying for them, indicating his complicity in laundering the proceeds. The order further recalled earlier ED findings that linked a portion of the scam's money trail to Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut through his wife, who allegedly received Rs.1.06 crore, leading to issuance of process against him in September 2022. Concluding that the ED's complaint, supplementary complaints and supporting evidence establish offences under Section 3 of the PMLA, punishable under Section 4, the court directed issuance of process against both accused firms. It also clarified that since the original FIR was filed in 2018 and the first PMLA complaint in 2022, the proceedings will continue under the Code of Criminal Procedure and not the new Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita....