Delhi HC grants bail to co-accused in Waqf Board money laundering case

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has granted bail to a co-accused in the money laundering case arising from alleged irregularities in the Waqf Board here during the chairmanship of AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan.

Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri granted relief to Jawed Imam Siddiqui in the case, noting that he was in custody since November 11, 2023 and the trial was "stuck at the stage of supply of documents".

The judge in the judgement passed on Wednesday observed that since there were multiple accused persons, thousands of pages of evidence and a large number of witnesses to be examined, the trial was not expected to end anytime in the near future and keeping the accused in custody by using Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as a tool for incarceration was not permissible.

Section 45 puts certain restrictions on grant of bail in the PMLA cases.

"Considering the totality of the facts and circumstances, the fact that the main accused is out on bail, the period of custody undergone, the likelihood of supplementary challan being filed qua the main accused and that the trial has been stuck at the stage of supply of documents under Section 207 Cr.P.C., keeping in mind the import of the catena of decisions of Supreme Court discussed hereinabove, it is directed that the applicant be released on regular bail," said the court.

The court asked the accused to furnish a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh with one surety of the like amount, while also imposing other conditions like not leaving Delhi/NCR without prior permission.

In the decision, the court also said an accused in a money laundering case could not be equated with those facing trial for offences like murder and rape, which are punishable with death and imprisonment for life etc., and the sacrosanct right to liberty and fair trial was to be protected even in cases of stringent provisions present in special legislations.

The money laundering case against Khan stems from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR and three Delhi Police complaints.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which earlier conducted raids on the premises of the legislator, has claimed that Amanatullah Khan acquired "huge proceeds of crime" in cash through illegal recruitment of staff in the Delhi Waqf Board and invested those to purchase immovable assets in the name of his associates.

The agency has named five people in its prosecution complaint (the ED's equivalent of a chargesheet) that included three alleged associates of Khan -- Zeeshan Haider, Daud Nasir and Jawed Imam Siddiqui.

The searches were conducted in the case related to illegal recruitment of staff and illegitimate personal gains made by the accused by way of unfairly leasing Waqf Board properties during 2018-2022 when Khan was its chairperson, the ED said.

Several "incriminating" material in the form of physical and digital evidence were seized during the raids, indicating Khan's involvement in the offence of money laundering, the ED has said.