Al-Falah university chancellor denied bail in PMLA case

A Delhi court denied bail to Al-Falah University chancellor Jawad Siddiqui in a ₹400 crore money laundering case, citing misuse of his position.

A Delhi court on Saturday dismissed the bail plea of Al-Falah University chancellor Jawad Siddiqui in a money laundering case of over ₹400 crore, observing that he abused his position to use educational institutions for personal benefit.

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Additional sessions judge Sheetal Chaudhary Pradhan of Saket courts, in an 85-page order, said the allegations were “grave” and no grounds for bail were found.

“There is prima facie evidence that proceeds of crime were generated from criminal activities… the applicant may be directly linked,” the court noted.

The order said proceeds from Al-Falah University and colleges were routed through four firms owned by Siddiqui’s wife, children, and trusted employees but controlled by him. The funds were moved abroad and invested in businesses and properties.

“As managing trustee and chancellor, he abused his fiduciary duties by using charitable and educational institutions as instruments for personal, family and commercial benefit,” the court observed.

The judge also noted a clear pattern of “deliberate structuring, layering, and integration of funds” consistent with money laundering.

The court added that the matter was at a nascent stage and further investigation was underway, with another money laundering case pending against Siddiqui.

Senior advocate Vikram Chaudhary, appearing for Siddiqui, argued his client had no connection with doctors linked to the Red Fort bomb blast case and had terminated them before any case was lodged.

He said the accreditation status had nothing to do with the validity of degrees, adding that all graduating students were well-settled.

“Al-Falah’s colleges had a NAAC accreditation till 2014, but one department closed and another became a faculty. The three FIRs relate to historical accreditation of colleges that no longer operate,” Chaudhary submitted.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had earlier opposed a bail plea, saying digital evidence showed the medical college hired over 70 “on-paper doctors” only to pass regulatory inspections.

“A fraud was being played out at the behest of Jawad where ghost doctors were put in place who never did any work,” special counsel Zoheb Hossain told the court.

The prosecutor said the regular staff at Al-Falah’s medical college came only a few days a week, and over 70 doctors shown as genuine employees existed only on paper — including the current vice-chancellor.

Even visiting faculty rarely came, and chats belonging to Siddiqui showed some doctors were paid salaries without any work duties, the prosecutor added.

Funds were allegedly transferred to these doctors just before inspections by the National Medical Council (NMC), the ED said.

The agency also claimed the college fraudulently obtained an essentiality certificate from the Haryana government by forging faculty records.

“Public harm is being caused… fees collected constitute proceeds of crime to the tune of ₹493 crore. Deception is being created by saying you are a full-fledged medical college,” the ED said.

Siddiqui was also in touch with a consultant who kept him informed about regulatory requirements to deceive NMC members, the prosecutor added.

The university came under scrutiny during investigations into a suspected “white-collar terror” network. The NIA and J&K police earlier arrested two doctors linked to the institution — Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie and Shaheen Saeed.

The ED arrested Siddiqui last November and filed a charge sheet against him in January. The agency attached assets worth ₹139 crore, including 54 acres of land inside the university campus. The court is yet to take cognisance of the charge sheet.

Another doctor linked to the university hospital, Umar-un-Nabi, was identified as the suicide bomber who drove an explosive-laden vehicle that detonated outside the Red Fort.