Delhi Waqf Board case: A Delhi court on Thursday (November 14) ordered the release of AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan in a money laundering case related to alleged irregularities in the Waqf Board case. The court also refused to take cognisance of a chargesheet by the filed Enforcement Directorate (ED) against him.
Special Judge Jitendra Singh said while there is sufficient evidence against Khan to proceed against him, there was no sanction to prosecute him. "Therefore, the cognisance is declined," the judge said. The court directed that Khan be released from judicial custody forthwith on a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh and one surety of the like amount.
ED chargesheets Amanatullah Khan
The ED had on October 29 filed a 110-page first supplementary prosecution complaint (ED's equivalent of a chargesheet), claiming Khan laundered money that was allegedly generated through corruption in the Delhi Waqf Board.
The chargesheet had also named one Mariam Siddiqui, who was not arrested as an accused by the ED in the case. The court said there was no evidence to proceed against Siddiqui and discharged her.
The AAP MLA was arrested by the central agency on September 2 hours after the ED reached his home in the national capital for a probe into the money laundering case related to financial irregularities in the Delhi Waqf Board. He was brought to the ED office and later produced before the Delhi court.
Delhi Waqf Board case
The investigation into alleged irregularities in appointments at the Delhi Waqf Board stems from a 2016 case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Khan, who chaired the board at the time, faces accusations of illicitly appointing individuals to the board, causing financial loss to the Delhi government and allegedly benefitting personally. The ED subsequently initiated a money laundering probe, conducting raids last year on premises linked to Khan and seizing incriminating physical and digital evidence.
(With PTI inputs)
Also Read: ED chargesheets AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan in Delhi Waqf Board case
