Court orders release of AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan from jail in money laundering case

NEW DELHI: The Rouse Avenue court on Thursday declined cognizance against AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan in the Delhi Waqf Board money laundering case.

Special Judge Jitendra Singh declined cognizance against Khan in the absence of sanction to prosecute him. The court directed to release him on a bond of Rs 1 lakh and one surety in the like amount. This case is related to alleged money laundering in the purchase of a property worth Rs 36 crore.

Advocate Rajat Bhardwaj, along with Kaustubh Khanna and Mohd. Irshad Khan appeared for Amanat Ullah Khan. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had filed a supplementary charge sheet against Amanatullah Khan and Mariam Siddiqui on October 29. Khan was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on September 2. Mariam Siddiqui was chargesheeted without arrest.

The court said that there was sufficient evidence against Khan. However, there is no sanction to prosecute him. The court has therefore said that the cognizance is declined. The trial court said that apparently, the prerequisite conditions for applicability of Section 197 of CrPC are satisfied in the case.

The applicability of Section 197 of CrPC with respect to PMLA explained by the Supreme Court in its recent judgment titled ‘Directorate of Enforcement vs. Bibbu Prasad Acharya and Others’ whereby it has been held that the special court cannot take cognizance of the offences under PMLA in absence of previous sanction ws 197 (1) of CPC paint the public servant.

“Perusal of record reveals that as such no sanction from the competent authority government has been placed on record against A-6. Thus, cognizance against A-6 (Amanatullah Khan) is declined for the offence defined under section 3 and punishable under section 4 of the PMLA for the lack of requisite sanction in terms of Section 197 (1) of CrPC”, the special judge said in the order.

The court also said that there is no evidence against Mariam Siddiqui. Siddiqui has been discharged. The Rouse Avenue Court of Delhi, had on Wednesday, reserved its orders on whether to take cognizance of the supplementary chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Delhi Waqf Board money laundering case. The chargesheet names Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Amanatullah Khan and Mariam Siddiqui.

The Special Judge Jitendra Singh fixed November 14 for pronouncement its orders on cognizance part. During the hearing, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed the court that the proceeds of the crime were invested in property, which was purchased in the name of Amanatullah Khan’s second wife, Mariam Siddiqui. The ED alleged that a property worth Rs 36 crore was acquired in Okhla under Khan’s direction, with Rs 27 crore paid in cash.

Special Judge Jitendra Singh questioned the ED about how Amanatullah Khan was connected to the money laundering offence. In response, the ED cited a diary and WhatsApp chats, pointing out that Khan’s name appeared multiple times in the diary, written by Kausar Imam Siddiqui, along with matching financial transactions. The ED also referred to messages stating, ‘Netaji ko paisa pahuncha diya’, and noted that the transaction on the same day corresponded with this message.

The ED further stated that Amanatullah Khan, who served as the Chairman of the Delhi Waqf Board from 2016 to 2023, had tampered with his mobile phone during a search on October 10, 2023, deleting crucial data from the device.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently arrested Amanatullah Khan from his Okhla residence in connection with a money laundering case related to irregularities in appointments at the Delhi Waqf Board during his tenure as its chairman. The agency filed a 110-page supplementary chargesheet in the case, which also named Mariam Siddiqui as an accused. However, Siddiqui was not arrested by the ED. (ANI)