A Delhi court today directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED), to inform about the status of investigation against corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar in a money-laundering case. It relates to negotiations that allegedly favoured foreign private airlines and caused loss to state-owned Air India.

Special Judge Anuradha Shukla Bhardwaj noted the submission of the ED lawyer that it has no hesitation in sharing with the court the progress of the investigation. The judge asked the investigating officer to appear before it with the details of the probe on the next date of hearing.

The order came after the lawyer representing Talwar told the court that since the accused is being kept in custody on the pretext of pending investigation, the agency should inform the court as to what investigation has been carried out and why the accused needs to be kept in custody.

The court extended the judicial custody of Talwar till November 18. He was booked by the ED and the CBI in criminal cases of corruption, while the Income-Tax department charged him with tax evasion.