The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan’s plea challenging his arrest in a fresh money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and urged the Allahabad high court to hear the matter on November 16.
“The high court has been granting you liberty at every stage. We do not want to bypass the high court,” a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and justice Joymalya Bagchi said.
Khan was arrested on October 31 in the money laundering case, shortly after he and his son Abdullah Azam Khan were released from Rampur prison in Uttar Pradesh in an alleged dual PAN card case. The latest case pertains to alleged misuse of government funds in the construction of the Mohammad Ali Jauhar University that was established in Rampur by Khan. The 78-year-old SP veteran was produced before the special Ghaziabad court and subsequently sent to judicial custody for 14 days.
The top court bench directed the transfer of Khan’s bail petition to the Allahabad high court within two days. It also directed the registrar general of the high court to immediately place the matter before the chief justice, to constitute a division bench for the hearing on November 16. “The division bench is requested to pass order on the prayer for interim relief (bail),” it said.
Appearing for Khan, senior advocate Kapil Sibal alleged that ED has opened 28 new Enforcement Case Information Reports (ECIR) based on predicate offences dating back to 2006. He argued that the whole purpose of arresting his client now is to keep him in custody ahead of the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh early next year.
{{/usCountry}}Appearing for Khan, senior advocate Kapil Sibal alleged that ED has opened 28 new Enforcement Case Information Reports (ECIR) based on predicate offences dating back to 2006. He argued that the whole purpose of arresting his client now is to keep him in custody ahead of the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh early next year.
{{/usCountry}}“Your argument may have substance but if we say something in your favour it will prejudice the case. We will request the high court to decide on the very first day of reopening after the Diwali vacation. If there is a vacation bench, we will ask the chief justice to consider,” the bench said.
Sibal said the Allahabad high court granted Khan bail on October 29 in the dual PAN card case, but ED officials were already waiting outside the jail before he could walk out.
He cited Khan's age and the 87 previous cases in which he has secured bail. He also pointed out that the latest arrest comes ahead of the state assembly elections scheduled to be held next year.
“They have shown goats and cows as proceeds of crime, does it not shock judicial conscience? And 28 fresh cases have been lodged by ED. It will take years for me to be released in all these matters. This is pure persecution as they want me to die in jail. They knew I would be released by the high court, so they filed a fresh ECIR. This is to make sure in the next elections I am not there,” he said.
The bench told Sibal: “It appears the nub of the ED material is Income Tax proceedings where a substantial amount has been shown as part of the management of the university. Your argument is that it is malafide. There is a substantial passage of time but what the ED plead is that because of your supervening influence, FIR was not registered back then.” It was referring to the SP rule in Uttar Pradesh in 2006, when party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav was chief minister.
The court also said one of the ECIRs is with regard to misuse of Haj Committee funds.
On October 29, Khan was granted bail in the dual PAN case, in which he was awarded a 10-year prison term. The high court suspended the sentence but refused to stay the conviction.