The Supreme Court on Monday declined to grant anticipatory bail to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Amanatullah Khan in a money laundering case related to alleged irregularities in the Waqf Board during his chairmanship.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said that Khan should not be arrested unless there is sufficient material against him.
It cautioned the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against unnecessarily exercising the right to arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
“You arrest him in case there is material. In case, there is no material, do not arrest him. You have to follow Section 19 of the PMLA. Right to arrest should not be taken for granted,” said the bench to ED’s counsel, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju.
It ordered Khan to appear before ED on April 18, 2024, at 11 am and on his appearance, the application of the central agency before trial court for the issuance of the non-bailable warrant against him will be withdrawn.
The bench, in its order, stated, “It is pointed out by the senior advocate appearing for the petitioner that ED has filed an application for the issuance of non-bailable warrants before the Special Court. He stated that the petitioner would appear before the officers of ED on April 18, 2024, at 11 am… In case the petitioner appears, the ED shall withdraw the application filed before the Special Court.”
It also expressed displeasure on Khan skipping summons issued by ED, saying, “You have messed up your whole matter by not responding to the summons. Repeatedly summons were issued, how can we condone that?”
The apex court said it was not inclined to issue a notice in the appeal to the extent it denies anticipatory bail.
The top court was hearing an appeal against March 11 order of the Delhi High Court declining anticipatory bail in a money laundering case filed against him in connection with irregularities in recruitment to the Delhi Waqf Board and the leasing of some properties
Disapproving repeated evasion of summonses of investigating agencies by public persons, the High Court refused to grant pre-arrest bail to Okhla MLA.
The High Court, while noting that Khan did not appear before the ED despite six summons had said legislators should know that disobeying the law will lead to legal consequences as all citizens are equal in the eyes of the law and an “MLA or a public figure is not above the law of the land”.
The money laundering case against Khan stems from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR and three Delhi Police complaints.
The allegations against Khan concern his time as Chairman of the Waqf Board. He has been accused of illegally recruiting people in violation of the law and unfairly leasing Waqf Board properties during 2018-2022.
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