The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan in a money laundering case related to alleged irregularities in the Delhi Waqf Board recruitment during his chairmanship.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma while pronouncing the order said no ground for anticipatory bail is made out at this stage.
Noting that the AAP MLA did not appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) despite six summonses, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said legislators should know that disobeying the law will lead to legal consequences as all citizens are equal in the eyes of the law and an MLA or a public figure is not above the law of the land.
"This court wonders whether a person's plea of being busy with personal or official work can be a valid ground on several occasions to avoid summons on the ground that he is a public person. The answer in this court’s opinion has to be in the negative," the court said in its order, according to PTI.
The AAP MLA from Okhla had approached the Delhi HC after his application for pre-arrest bail in the case, which is being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), was rejected by a trial court here on March 1.
Amanatullah's earlier bail application was dismissed by the trial court. He was summoned by the ED for investigation. The money laundering case is connected to the alleged irregularities in the Delhi Waqf Board recruitment. The money laundering case stems from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR and three Delhi Police complaints.
It was alleged that AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, while working as chairman of the Delhi Waqf Board, illegally recruited various people in violation of norms and government guidelines.
As per a report in PTI, the central agency, which earlier conducted raids on the premises of the legislator, has claimed that Khan acquired huge proceeds of crime in cash through illegal recruitment of staff in the Delhi Waqf Board and invested those to purchase immovable assets in the name of his associates.