Hasan applies for bail

Pune businessman Hasan Ali Khan, accused of being involved in a money-laundering racket, filed for bail in the sessions court on Wednesday stating that the prosecution has not been able to make a case against him.

Pune businessman Hasan Ali Khan, accused of being involved in a money-laundering racket, filed for bail in the sessions court on Wednesday stating that the prosecution has not been able to make a case against him.

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The application is scheduled to come up for hearing before principal sessions judge SS Joshi on April 8, when Khan’s judicial custody ends.

“Our main contention is that no scheduled offence was made under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act,” said Khan’s lawyer IP Bagaria. “The alleged violations were prior to the enforcement of the law, which is not retrospective in nature.”

On March 17, the Supreme Court (SC) cancelled Khan’s bail and granted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) his custody. On March 21, the SC granted additional three days’ custody to the ED. The next day, the sessions court remanded Khan in judicial custody till April 8.

Khan was first arrested on March 7 by the ED but a court on March 11 rejected its plea for custodial interrogation on the grounds that the agency had not gathered sufficient evidence or made a case to justify its plea.

The ED began questioning Khan on the basis of documents forwarded by I-T department, which allegedly showed Khan as having $8 billion (Rs 36,000 crore) in banks outside India.