The Rajasthan High Court on Thursday extended the interim protection from arrest to businessman Robert Vadra, husband of Congress leader priyanka Vadra, till February 8 in an alleged money laundering case related to land scam in Bikaner.

An application by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was scheduled to be heard in the high court, where the ED has sought the custodial interrogation of Vadra, but the court could not take up the case for hearing due to the paucity of time.

Chief justice of Rajasthan High Court Dr Pushpendra Singh Bhati has fixed February 8 as the next date of hearing in the case and granted Vadra and his mother interim protection from arrest till then.

The ED has registered an enforcement case information report (ECIR) in the alleged Bikaner land scam.

The probe is related to the purchase of 275 bigha land allegedly by the company in the Kolayat area of the border town of Bikaner.

The central probe agency had registered a criminal case of money laundering in 2016 on the basis of FIRs filed by the state police after the local tehsildar had made a complaint.

On January 21, 2019, the court had asked Vadra, a partner in the Sky Light Hospitality, and his mother Maureen Vadra, to appear before the ED for questioning.

(With inputs from agencies)