Delhi Special Court Rejects PFI President Bail Petition
The Special Court of Delhi rejected the default bail petition of Perwez Ahmad (President, PFI Delhi), Md Ilias (General Secretary, PFI Delhi), and Abdul Muqeet (Office Secretary, PCI, Delhi) concerning alleged money laundering in the guise of cash donations by the banned outfit Popular Front of India (PFI). The court’s decision was based on the judgment of the Apex Court in the Ritu Chhabaria case, which had been stayed by the Apex Court itself, making it non-precedential. The court also noted that “further investigation” does not imply that the earlier investigation was incomplete and that investigating agencies have the authority to conduct “further investigation” for money laundering offenses.
The accused had argued that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a complaint (Chargesheet) without completing the investigation, thus depriving them of their right to default bail under Section 167(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). They claimed that the ED took 116 days to supply them with a copy of the complaint after their arrest.
The ED accused Perwez Ahmad, the President of PFI Delhi since 2018, of being part of a criminal conspiracy and responsible for collecting funds. The investigation revealed that the funds collected were bogus and generated from suspicious sources, indicating the proceeds of crime from a criminal conspiracy. Perwez Ahmad was also accused of deliberately withholding and lying about true facts during the investigation.
The ED’s investigation against PFI, which started in 2018, discovered that more than Rs. 120 Crore had been deposited in the accounts of PFI and related entities, with a significant portion of the funds deposited in cash. The agency also found details of numerous bank accounts linked to PFI during the course of the investigation.
Perwez Ahmad and Muhammed Shafeeque Payeth were arrested in September of the previous year during a joint operation by the ED, National Investigation Agency (NIA), and state police forces, which resulted in the arrest of 106 PFI members from 15 different states. The ED found inputs against PFI for organizing a training camp with the intention of causing disturbance during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bihar’s capital Patna on July 12 of the previous year.
