Rouse Avenue Courts: Your CBI, ED or MP/MLA Case in Delhi

What the Rouse Avenue Courts are and why your case is there

The Rouse Avenue Court Complex on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, near ITO, is where Delhi's special courts for CBI cases, Enforcement Directorate money-laundering cases and criminal cases against legislators sit. It started functioning in April 2019 in an eight-storey building with about forty courtrooms, when the special judge courts handling CBI and Anti Corruption Branch cases were shifted there from older court complexes.

If you have been called here, the reason is almost always the agency that investigated the case or the identity of one of the accused. Your home address does not decide it. A trader from Rohini, a bank manager posted in Noida and a former minister can all be listed on the same floor on the same day, because the CBI or ED investigated their cases or because a legislator is among the accused. An ordinary Delhi Police FIR from your locality goes to the district court for that area, such as Tis Hazari, Saket or Patiala House Courts.

One plain point before going further: this is the website of a private law firm, B.K. Singh & Associates. It is not the website of the Rouse Avenue Courts or of the Delhi District Courts. For official cause lists, case status, court numbers and notices, use the Delhi District Courts website and the eCourts portal.

Which cases are heard at Rouse Avenue

• CBI cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988. Trials of public servants, and of private persons who paid or arranged bribes, are heard by courts styled Special Judge (PC Act) (CBI). Offences under the BNS or the old IPC that are tried with them, such as cheating, forgery or criminal conspiracy, travel with the main case.
• Other CBI chargesheets filed in Delhi. Bank fraud cases, cases handed to the CBI by a court or by the government, and CBI cases involving central government departments headquartered in Delhi are generally listed before the CBI courts here.
• Anti Corruption Branch cases. Corruption cases investigated by the Delhi government's Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) were moved to this complex when it opened, so Delhi government employees, MCD staff and contractors facing ACB trap or assets cases usually appear here.
• ED money-laundering cases. Prosecution complaints filed by the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 are tried by special courts designated under that Act, which sit at Rouse Avenue. Remand and bail hearings of persons arrested by the ED in Delhi also happen here.
• Cases against MPs and MLAs. Designated special courts hear criminal cases in which a legislator is an accused, including private complaints such as criminal defamation. In October 2025 the Lieutenant Governor approved extending these courts' jurisdiction to former MPs and MLAs as well.
• Newer special courts. In August 2026 fourteen more special courts were opened in the complex for NIA, UAPA, NDPS, MCOCA and paper leak cases. The allocation of cases among courts changes by notification, so confirm which court your case sits in before the first date.

Why a special court and not the ordinary sessions court

The Prevention of Corruption Act says its offences can be tried only by a Special Judge appointed under that Act. The PMLA says money-laundering offences are triable only by a Special Court designated under it. The MP/MLA courts come from the Supreme Court's directions in Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay v. Union of India, which asked every state to set up dedicated courts for cases against legislators and asked High Courts to monitor them. Delhi placed all three types under one roof at Rouse Avenue.

This has practical results. A private person named alongside a legislator will find the whole case before the MP/MLA court, even though he has never held office. An accused who is charged with both a PC Act offence and a BNS offence cannot split the case and ask for the BNS part to be tried locally. And when the ED builds a money-laundering case on a CBI case, both are often pending in the same complex, sometimes before different judges, which matters when you plan dates and arguments.

Rouse Avenue is not a separate judicial district for ordinary disputes from a locality. You will not file a property suit or a maintenance case there. What it hears depends on the statute and the agency.

The laws that decide a Rouse Avenue case

How a CBI or ACB case moves through Rouse Avenue

Every case has its own turns, but most corruption cases at Rouse Avenue pass through these stages in this order.

1. Registration and investigation

   The CBI registers a Regular Case (RC), its name for an FIR, or a Preliminary Enquiry first. It may search homes and offices, call people with a notice under Section 35 BNSS, and arrest some accused. Anyone arrested is produced before the special judge at Rouse Avenue for police or judicial custody.

2. Sanction and chargesheet

   For a public servant, the agency must obtain sanction under Section 19 of the PC Act before the court can take cognizance. The chargesheet under Section 193 BNSS (old Section 173 CrPC) is then filed before the special judge, often running into thousands of pages in assets and bank fraud cases.

3. Cognizance and summons

   The judge reads the chargesheet, decides whether there is enough to proceed, and summons the accused who were not arrested. If you cooperated during the investigation and were never arrested, the court usually does not send you to custody on appearance. Following Siddharth v. State of U.P. (2021) and Satender Kumar Antil v. CBI (2022), it generally accepts a bail bond.

4. Copies, inspection and scrutiny

   Each accused receives the chargesheet and relied-upon documents. In big cases this stage alone takes months, because documents are scanned, supplied on drives and inspected, and accused often ask to see documents the agency collected but did not rely on.

5. Arguments on charge or discharge

   Both sides argue whether the material discloses an offence against each accused. Defects in sanction, the absence of Section 17A approval where it was needed, or the lack of any link to the bribe money are commonly raised here. The court frames charges or discharges the accused.

6. Evidence and the accused's statement

   Prosecution witnesses are examined and cross-examined, then the accused's statement is recorded, and defence evidence follows if any. In a trap case the complainant, the shadow witness and the trap laying officer are the heart of the trial.

7. Final arguments and judgment

   After final arguments the special judge acquits or convicts. A conviction can be appealed to the Delhi High Court under Section 415 BNSS (old Section 374 CrPC), along with an application for suspension of sentence under Section 430 BNSS.

At any of these stages a bail refusal, an order framing charge or a summoning order can be taken to the Delhi High Court. The trial does not stop automatically while that happens; it stops only if the High Court stays it.

ED and PMLA cases: what happens in the special court

A person arrested by the ED under Section 19 PMLA must be produced before the special court within 24 hours, and the court decides remand. The Supreme Court held in Pankaj Bansal v. Union of India (2023) that the grounds of arrest must be given in writing. When we see a remand file, the first thing we check is whether those written grounds were served and when, because a defect there can make the arrest itself illegal.

Bail in a PMLA case is harder than in an ordinary case because Section 45 asks the court to be satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe the accused is not guilty and is not likely to commit an offence on bail. Even so, the Supreme Court in Manish Sisodia v. ED (2024) and Prem Prakash v. Union of India (2024) said long custody with no early end to trial is a strong ground for bail, and that the twin conditions cannot be used to keep a person in jail indefinitely. Our page on bail in ED money-laundering cases covers this in detail, and the guide on Section 45 PMLA and the twin conditions explains the test in plain words.

Many people in a PMLA case were never arrested. Once the ED files its prosecution complaint and the special court takes cognizance, Tarsem Lal v. ED (2024) applies: if you appear on the court's summons, you are not treated as in custody, the court can take a bond for appearance, and the ED needs the special court's permission to arrest you after that. This judgment changed the first appearance for hundreds of accused at Rouse Avenue.

A money-laundering case depends on the scheduled offence. If the accused is finally discharged or acquitted in the predicate case, or that case is quashed, Vijay Madanlal Choudhary says the PMLA case cannot survive on its own. So the CBI or police case, wherever it is pending, needs as much attention as the ED case. Summons, ECIR and attachment questions are explained on our page on ED summons, ECIR and property attachment.

MP/MLA courts: for complainants, co-accused and legislators

The MP/MLA courts at Rouse Avenue hear cases in which a sitting or former legislator is an accused. These include CBI and ED cases, Delhi Police chargesheets transferred there, and a large share of private complaints, especially criminal defamation complaints over speeches, press conferences and social media posts. Political defamation complaints filed in Delhi are routinely listed here.

If you want to complain against a legislator, the route is the same as any complaint case, with one change that catches people out. Under Section 223 BNSS (old Section 200 CrPC), the magistrate cannot take cognizance on a complaint without first giving the proposed accused a chance to be heard. Expect a hearing on that point before any summons is issued. Your complaint, list of witnesses and documents must be complete from day one, because a weak first filing is hard to repair later.

If you are a private person named with a legislator, your case moves at the pace of the MP/MLA court. These courts are under High Court monitoring and are expected to give such cases priority, but in practice adjournments still happen. Ask early for exemption from personal appearance on routine dates, and keep your address and phone number current with the court so you do not miss a notice.

Legislators themselves face the same law as anyone else, but practical matters differ: Parliament or Assembly sessions, security arrangements and media attention. When Advocate B.K. Singh is asked to look at such a matter, he first maps every pending case against the person in Delhi and elsewhere, because an order in one case is often cited in another.

When the Delhi High Court steps into a Rouse Avenue case

The Delhi High Court supervises the Rouse Avenue courts and hears appeals from them. Bail refused by the special court can be sought afresh from the High Court under Section 483 BNSS. Anticipatory bail under Section 482 BNSS (old Section 438 CrPC) can be sought from the special court or the High Court, though PMLA anticipatory bail is still tested against Section 45. Our pages on bail in CBI cases and the general CBI investigation and trial defence page go through those choices.

Orders that are not final can be challenged by revision under Sections 438 to 442 BNSS (old 397 to 401 CrPC), for example an order framing charge or rejecting discharge; see revision against summoning, charge or interim orders. A petition under Section 528 BNSS (old Section 482 CrPC) can ask the High Court to quash the case where the chargesheet discloses no offence or where sanction is plainly absent. A conviction is challenged by appeal, explained on our page on appeals against conviction.

Writ petitions under Article 226 also arise from Rouse Avenue cases: Look Out Circulars opened at the request of the CBI or ED, provisional attachment questions, and challenges to summons or sanction. If an agency's LOC is stopping you from travelling, see getting a Look Out Circular quashed or suspended. From the High Court, the next step is the Supreme Court by special leave petition.

Time and cost at each stage (typical ranges, not promises)

Papers to collect before you meet a lawyer

Practical points about attending Rouse Avenue

The complex is on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, a short distance from ITO. Parking near the gate is limited, and in high-profile matters there are television crews and police barricades outside. Arrive early, carry photo identity, and expect a security check at the entrance. The Delhi District Courts website shows the cause list and the court number; courts here carry names such as Special Judge (PC Act) (CBI) with a number, and the number matters because several courts handle similar cases.

Personal presence is required at certain stages, such as the first appearance, framing of charge and recording of the accused's statement, unless the court exempts you. On routine dates many accused file applications for exemption, especially those living outside Delhi, older people and NRIs. An undertrial held in Tihar or Mandoli is usually produced physically or through video link from jail; families should check with the jail and the court staff, not assume.

Rouse Avenue is a short drive from the Delhi High Court on Sher Shah Road and from Patiala House. On days when a bail matter is listed in the High Court and the trial is also on, lawyers sometimes appear in both places. Tell your lawyer in advance about any date clash so that an adjournment or exemption can be sought properly rather than by a last-minute phone call.

Mistakes that hurt people in Rouse Avenue cases

• Treating the first summons as a formality. Missing the first date can lead to a bailable or non-bailable warrant, and a warrant reverses the benefit of having been a cooperative accused.
• Speaking to the ED without preparation. Statements under Section 50 PMLA are recorded on oath and are admissible against you. Read your own documents before you go, and keep notes of every visit.
• Assuming a settlement ends the case. Repaying a bank does not end a CBI bank fraud case or a PMLA case. Corruption offences are not compounded on settlement, and quashing on compromise is rarely allowed for them.
• Missing attachment deadlines. Provisional attachment under Section 5 PMLA goes to the Adjudicating Authority, which has fixed timelines. People who ignore that notice while focusing on bail often lose a property hearing by default.
• Travelling without permission. If bail conditions require permission to go abroad, take it from the court that imposed the condition. An LOC can stop you at the airport even when no condition exists. See permission to travel abroad during a criminal case.
• Filing in the High Court too early or too late. Rushing to the High Court before the special court has decided bail usually leads to the petition being sent back. Waiting months after a charge order weakens a revision.

Accused, complainant, public servant or NRI: how the approach differs

For an accused, the work in the first month is protecting liberty and the record: securing bail or an appearance bond, obtaining every document, and noting legal defects such as missing sanction or missing Section 17A approval while they are fresh. For a complainant in a trap case, the CBI conducts the prosecution, but you will be the key witness and your earlier statement will be put to you in cross-examination years later. Keep a copy and reread it before you depose.

A public servant has to manage the department too. Suspension, departmental inquiry and the criminal case run side by side, and something said in the inquiry can surface at trial. A company director in a bank fraud case often faces the CBI case, a PMLA case and a bank's recovery case at once, each in a different forum, and needs one plan for all three.

An NRI accused faces passport and LOC questions from the start. Courts here can allow exemption from appearance on many dates and permit travel on conditions, but the first appearance is usually in person. When Advocate B.K. Singh advises someone abroad, he plans that first visit so that bail, travel permission and any LOC question are dealt with in one trip where the law allows it.

What to do this week

• Note the next date and the exact court name and number from the summons or the cause list.
• Collect the summons, notices, RC, FIR or ECIR and any statements you gave, in date order.
• Write a one-page timeline: when you were first contacted, searched, questioned, arrested or released.
• Check whether an LOC or attachment order has been issued and note any deadline in it.
• Identify a surety with clear identity and address papers.
• Read the guide on sanction for prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act if you are a public servant.
• Do not discuss the case on WhatsApp groups or with co-accused without legal advice.

Getting advice on a Rouse Avenue case

We appear in Rouse Avenue matters and take the connected bail, revision, quashing and writ work to the Delhi High Court, working with associate counsel and Advocates-on-Record where a case goes to the Supreme Court. Our offices are in Dwarka, New Delhi and Vaishali, Ghaziabad, and we hold online consultations for clients outside Delhi and abroad. Fees are discussed at the first meeting and agreed in writing, stage by stage. If you want to understand which cases are listed here before you meet anyone, the guide on which cases go to the Rouse Avenue Courts is a good start.

For advice on your summons, chargesheet or remand papers, or for updates on how the law on CBI and ED cases is changing, contact Advocate B.K. Singh.