India, Oct. 18 -- MUMBAI: Former Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) commissioner Anilkumar Pawar was released from prison on Thursday night even as the Supreme Court on Friday deferred the hearing on the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) special leave petition (SLP) challenging the Bombay High Court's declaration of Pawar's arrest as illegal. "The Supreme Court refused to hear the ED's SLP urgently to stay the SC order, saying the agency had registered the ECIR (Enforcement Case Information Report) four years after predicate offences were registered and therefore there was no urgency , and that the HC's order was detailed," Pawar's counsel, advocate Ujjwalkumar Chavhan, told Hindustan Times. The SLP is likely to be heard on October 27. Chavhan confirmed that Pawar, an IAS (Indian Administrative Services) officer, walked out of Arthur Road jail on Thursday night after spending nearly two months in prison. He was arrested by the ED on August 13 in connection with its money laundering investigation linked to illegal construction and alleged corruption in the VVCMC. The ED claims that Pawar, who served as VVCMC commissioner from 2022 to July 2025, headed a cartel that accepted bribes in exchange for overlooking illegal constructions and approving building plans....