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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a complaint case against Aam Admi Party MLA Amanatullah Khan for non-attendance of summons issued to him in the Delhi Waqf Board money laundering case.
The Rouse Avenue court has listed the matter for consideration tomorrow. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Divya Malhotra, after hearing the submissions of ED, listed the matter for consideration/further proceedings on April 6. The ED has moved a complaint case under section 174 IPC, 1860, read with section 63 (4) ofPMLA, 2002 for non-attendance in compliance with Section 50, PMLA, 2002. The Special Public Prosecutor (SPP), Simon Benjamin, appeared for ED. The Delhi High Court on March 11 dismissed Amanatullah Khan's anticipatory bail plea. He has been summoned several times by the ED but he didn't appeared. His earlier anticipatory bail plea was dismissed by the trial court. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma had dismissed the plea with some strict remarks and observations. She said that elected representatives and public figures are not above the the law. A separate class can not be created for political leaders. Justice Sharma had also rejected the petitioner's contention that he he might have been arrested if he had appeared before the ED. The High Court said that if such submissions were to be accepted, the accused might get arrested during the investigation and that no person would ever enter the office of any investigating agency. This Court cannot allow a new jurisprudence or a new set of rules, the High Court said. "Even the lawmakers should know that disobeying the law will have legal consequences, as all citizens are equal in the eyes of the law," Justice Sharma said. The bench further said that investigating agencies in India had the right to conduct an investigation. To conclude, a MLA or any public figure is not above the law of the land. "Actions of such public figures are observed closely by the public. This sets a bad precedent," justice Sharma pointed out. The High Court had observed that the AAP MLA avoided six summons issued by the ED. The High Court said that such avoidance of multiple summons is impermissible by law. The High Court also noted that the property in question was purchased for Rs 36 crore, and Rs 27 crore was paid in cash. The existence of two agreements to sell also creates doubt. The High Court said, "People also have a right to know what the truth is when their leader, whom they have elected, is being probed." "Seeing the conduct of the accused for not joining the investigation, there is no ground for granting anticipatory bail," Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said. The Rouse Avenue court on March 1 dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of AAP MLA Amanat Ullah Khan. This case is related to the purchase of a property worth Rs 36 crore in the Okhla area at the alleged behest of Amanatullah Khan, who is also a sitting MLA from that area. A charge sheet has already been filed against four accused persons and one firm. It has been alleged that Rs. 100 crore Waqf Properties were given on lease illegally. It is also alleged that 32 contractual employees were appointed to the Delhi Waqf Board during the chairmanship of Amanatullah Khan flouting the rules. (ANI)
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