The Bombay High Court has granted bail to former Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation town planner YS Reddy in a money-laundering case linked to alleged illegal construction in the municipal area. Reddy had been in custody since his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate on August 13, 2025.
The detailed order granting bail was not available when the report was published. The case relates to the ED’s investigation into alleged financial irregularities connected with illegal construction in Vasai-Virar, a rapidly urbanising region in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
The agency conducted searches at 16 locations in July 2025 and seized mutual funds worth Rs 12.71 crore, cash amounting to Rs 26 lakh and several documents, according to the report. Reddy was among those investigated in the operation.
Searches at Reddy’s residences in Vasai and Hyderabad resulted in the seizure of cash worth Rs 8.6 crore, gold and diamond-studded jewellery valued at Rs 23.25 crore, and documents, the report said. The ED subsequently arrested him on August 13, 2025.
According to information cited in the investigation, the agency later expanded its action to include Vasai-Virar municipal commissioner Anilkumar Pawar. Pawar had served as commissioner and subsequently as administrator of the civic body from January 2022. He was transferred to Thane as chief executive officer of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority, but was taken into custody by the ED before assuming the new post.
The ED has claimed that Pawar allegedly fixed a rate of Rs 20 to Rs 25 per square foot for regularising illegal construction from the time of his appointment, while Reddy allegedly fixed a rate of Rs 10 per square foot for himself after taking charge. These are allegations made by the investigating agency and will be subject to judicial proceedings.
The case places the enforcement of building regulations and the regularisation of unauthorised construction at the centre of a wider municipal governance investigation. In fast-expanding urban areas such as Vasai-Virar, decisions on building permissions, enforcement and post-facto regularisation directly affect land use, infrastructure demand and the security of residents occupying such properties.
Reddy’s bail does not conclude the case or determine the allegations against him. The next substantive details will depend on the Bombay High Court’s written order and further proceedings in the ED investigation and related court process.
