Delhi court orders immediate release of Amanatullah Khan

A court here on Thursday ordered the immediate release of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator Amanatullah Khan, saying his further incarceration in a money laundering case would be “illegal” in the absence sanction from the competent authority to prosecute him.

The Rouse Avenue court of Special Judge Jitendra Singh also refused to take cognisance of a supplementary chargesheet filed against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the case related to alleged irregularities in appointments at the Delhi Waqf Board during his tenure as its chairman.

Mr. Khan was arrested on September 2 under provisions of the stringent Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after the Central agency conducted a search at his Okhla residence.

The court said though there existed “sufficient ground” to proceed against Mr. Khan, no sanction from the competent authority or government was placed on record against him.

“Keeping the accused in custody in these circumstances when the cognisance [of supplementary chargesheet] has been declined for the absence of sanction under Section 197 (1) CrPC shall tantamount to illegal custody. Under these circumstances, the accused has to be immediately released,” the court added.

Section 197(1) of the CrPC states that a court cannot prosecute a public servant without the government’s prior sanction, a provision cited by the court while ordering the release of Mr. Khan. 

On the question of which authority is competent to grant sanction to prosecute Mr. Khan, the court referred to “competent authority/Government”. A Delhi government lawyer, however, said it could mean the Lieutenant-Governor or the Speaker.

Meanwhile, the ED moved the Delhi High Court challenging the trial court decision. After the ED’s counsel had sought an urgent listing, the court agreed to hear the case on Monday.

Reacting to the development, senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh said the court order has “exposed” the BJP-led Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which he said got “false cases” registered against their leaders in the past.

“Money laundering cases have proved to be a drama and a tool in the hands of the BJP [to arrest AAP leaders],” Mr. Singh said.

Mr. Singh claimed that the AAP MLA was jailed despite no case being made out against him.

He alleged that the BJP-led Centre uses provisions of the stringent PMLA to “trap or imprison” Opposition leaders in corruption cases and said recent bail orders in favour of party leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain have shown that “no one can be forcibly kept in jail for long on false charges”.

Published - November 15, 2024 01:01 am IST