Delhi Court orders ED Special Director to personally appear before it in 2020 Delhi riots case

During the proceedings on Tuesday, the judge said the investigating offer was not present during the hearing and nobody appeared on the prosecution’s behalf.

New Delhi: Expressing its displeasure over non-appearance of the prosecution lawyers in a 2020 northeast Delhi riots case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate, a Delhi court has ordered the personal appearance of the anti-money laundering agency’s Special Director before it.

Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat was hearing the case against former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain, who has been accused of laundering several crore rupees by using shell or dummy companies to fuel the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the communal riots.

During the proceedings on Tuesday, the judge said the investigating offer (IO) was not present during the hearing and nobody appeared on the prosecution’s behalf.

He said the court waited for around half an hour, and despite its earlier direction to provide an advance copy of ED's reply to an application filed by Hussain to his counsel, it was not done. The ED's reply was also not filed, the judge said.

'Previously also, there was non-appearance on behalf of the prosecution in the Court to file reply and supply of application/judgments/arguments,' the judge said, adding 'though it was stated that such a thing would not happen again, however, it has again happened.' 'In these circumstances, let the Special Director (Directorate of Enforcement) appear in person on the next date i.e, December 8 at 2 pm,' the judge ordered.

The court also directed Hussain's physical production during the next hearing.