Court rejects Amanatullah Khan’s anticipatory bail plea

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday rejected the anticipatory bail plea of AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan in the Delhi Waqf Board money laundering case. Special Judge Rakesh Syal of Rouse Avenue Court pronounced the verdict on February 24 after reserving the verdict.

ED had recently summoned the accused in this case. It has also opposed the anticipatory bail application. It was argued that if Khan was granted bail before his arrest, he would not be able to cooperate in the investigation. Khan had challenged the constitutional validity of Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and also sought directions to quash the cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) and ED.

Senior lawyer Maneka Guruswamy, representing Khan, had also argued earlier and requested for interim protection, but the court refused to grant the relief. Guruswamy had told that Khan was summoned in a money laundering case. He had contested the election on the issue of two FIRs being registered in the same case, the first FIR was registered by the CBI on November 23, 2016.
The charge related to Khan’s alleged wrongful appointment as chairman of the Delhi Waqf Board. He had cited the principle of criminal law which prohibits two FIRs for one cause. Given that despite the agency closing the case, the second FIR was based on the same allegations as the first, it was said to be an administrative irregularity.