NewsClick Case: Delhi HC Grants Pre-Arrest Bail To Prabir Purkayastha

Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Enforcement Directorate to respond to a petition filed by Mohammad Aslam Wani, who is accused of operating a hawala racket.

Wani has requested the court to dismiss a money laundering case filed against him, citing his acquittal in a related terror funding case.

Justice Sanjeev Narula issued notice to the ED and fixed the matter for further hearing on September 26.

Wani Claims Case No Longer Holds Ground

Wani’s counsel, Advocate M S Khan, argued that a trial court in 2010 acquitted him of terror-related charges stemming from a 2005 case. That acquittal was later upheld by the Delhi High Court in October 2017. He contended that the money laundering case, which was registered in 2007, is based on the same allegations and should therefore be quashed.

“Consequently, the allegations by the prosecution regarding the generation of proceeds of crime from criminal activities related to the scheduled offence do not hold water,” said Khan.

“This perfectly aligns with the legal principle that if the underlying scheduled offence does not stand, the related proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) also falls flat.”

Trial Delayed For Years, Says Defence

Khan also expressed concern over the lack of progress in the trial. Though charges were framed in January 2017 against Wani and co-accused Shabir Shah, only four out of 33 witnesses have been examined to date. Wani, he said, continues to face an unnecessarily prolonged legal process.

Case Traces Back To 2005 Arrest

Wani was arrested by Delhi Police’s Special Cell on August 26, 2005, after being found in possession of Rs 63 lakh allegedly received through hawala channels, along with a substantial amount of ammunition. At the time, he allegedly confessed to delivering money to high-profile separatists.

According to investigators, Wani claimed that Rs 50 lakh was intended for Shabir Shah, a prominent separatist leader from Kashmir; Rs 10 lakh was meant for Abu Baqar, a Jaish-e-Mohammad commander in Srinagar; and the remaining amount was his commission. He further admitted to having transferred approximately Rs 2.25 crore to Shah and his associates over several transactions.

While Wani was cleared of terror charges in 2010, he was convicted under the Arms Act. Following this, the ED initiated proceedings under the PMLA against both Wani and Shah. Both were arrested again in July 2017 in connection with the money laundering case.