Delhi Waqf Board scam: Top Court rejects AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan's pre-arrest bail plea

Delhi Waqf Board scam: Top Court rejects AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan’s pre-arrest bail plea

The Supreme Court on Monday denied anticipatory bail to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Amanatullah Khan in a money laundering case related to alleged irregularities in recruitment for the Delhi Waqf Board during his chairmanship.

During the hearing, Khan’s lawyer informed a bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna that he would appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Delhi Waqf Board scam case. The court recorded his submission that Khan would appear before the ED on April 18.

Upon learning that the ED had moved an application before a trial court seeking a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Khan, the court directed the probe agency to withdraw the application if Khan appeared before the agency.

However, the court expressed reservations about certain observations in the impugned order regarding the interpretation of Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and some observations on its merits, keeping the question of law open.

The court clarified that observations in the High Court’s order would not be treated as observations on the merits of the case regarding allegations against Khan.

“You can arrest if there’s material; if there’s none, don’t arrest. We aren’t saying anything on that. But you have to follow procedure under Section 19,” the court told ED.

“We take it you won’t unless the requirement under Section 19 (PMLA) is fulfilled. It’s not that just because he appears, you arrest him,” the court said.

The High Court had earlier denied anticipatory bail to Khan in March, stating that an MLA is not above the law and that he systematically and repeatedly avoided summons from the investigating agency.

Recently, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a fresh plea for the issuance of a non-bailable warrant against Amanatullah Khan. Special Judge for the CBI and ED, Rakesh Syal, scheduled the matter for April 18 after the agency requested time to file certain documents in support of its application.

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