The Delhi High Court on Monday sought a response from the Enforcement Directorate on a petition filed by Bilquies Shah, the wife of Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah, who has asked the court to dismiss a money laundering case registered against her.
Justice Sanjeev Narula issued notice to the central agency and scheduled the matter for further hearing on September 26.
The petition will be heard alongside a similar plea filed by Mohd. Aslam Wani, a co-accused in the same case.
Advocate M S Khan appeared on behalf of Bilquies Shah, while the petition was formally filed through advocate Qausar Khan.
The case originates from a 2007 money laundering investigation, in which Shabir Shah and Aslam Wani were named as key accused. In 2021, a supplementary chargesheet included Bilquies Shah as a co-accused.
Since then, the case against her has been pending at the stage of framing charges.
Her petition argues that she has never been arrested in the matter and questions why a chargesheet was filed against her without any custodial interrogation. The prosecution alleges she received ₹2.08 crore in cash from Aslam Wani, alongside her husband.
However, Shah’s legal team claims there is no direct evidence linking her to any money transaction.
The plea further points out that Wani’s statements—recorded under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)—do not name Bilquies Shah. It also emphasizes that such statements hold limited legal weight unless supported by independent corroborative evidence, according to established legal principles.
Charges in the original complaint were framed back in November 2017 against Shabir Shah and Wani. Despite the passage of several years, the trial has progressed slowly, with only four out of 33 witnesses examined so far, the petition noted.
The ED claims the accused were involved in routing large sums of illegal money and that the funds were used to support unlawful activities. In contrast, the defense argues that the entire case against Bilquies Shah is unsubstantiated and politically motivated.
Court will now consider whether the proceedings against her have legal merit or if the charges should be set aside altogether.
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