New Delhi: A local court on Thursday ordered the release of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator Amanatullah Khan in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the Delhi Waqf Board.
The court also refused to take cognisance of a chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against him.
“While there is sufficient evidence against Khan to proceed against him, there was no sanction to prosecute him. Therefore, the cognisance is declined,” Special Judge Jitendra Singh said.
He asked the authorities to release Khan from judicial custody immediately against bail and surety bonds of Rs one lakh each.
Hours after the trial court order, the ED challenged it in the Delhi High Court. Advocate Zoheb Hossain, representing the probe agency, mentioned the matter before the HC bench headed by Justice Vibhu Bakhru for an urgent hearing. However, the court agreed to list the case for Monday.
The case involves the alleged illegal purchase of a property worth Rs 36 crore from the money earned from corruption in the Delhi Waqf Board recruitment.
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According to ED, Khan is the main accused in the irregularities in the recruitment of the Delhi Waqf Board. Four others have also been arrested in the case. They are still in judicial custody.
On October 29, the ED filed a 110-page first supplementary prosecution complaint (the ED's equivalent of a chargesheet) accusing Khan of money laundering. It alleged that Khan had earned illegal wealth from criminal activities and purchased immovable property in the name of his associates.
The probe raided many places and claimed to have seized many documents and digital evidence, which allegedly showed that the AAP leader was involved in the crime.
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