Delhi High Court to hear arguments in Enamul Haque's cattle smuggling case on Feb 14

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday said that it will hear the final submissions in the bail plea of Enamul Haque, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on February 18, 2022, as the prime accused in a cattle smuggling case across the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal, on February 14.

Haque's counsel senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa will appear before Justice Anup J. Bhambhani's bench.

Earlier, Pahwa had submitted that this is the third arrest of his client.

Pahwa had argued that the ED should satisfy the court on how the proceeds of crime are generated in this case.

He had also submitted that all the allegations on the CBI charge-sheet name accused persons, but nothing about the offences, cattle smuggling, etc, and it has no supporting evidence at all.

"They have not identified the hawala channels, no bank statements, no statements that money has come from Bangladesh, nothing on how the money was used," he had said.

He had also pointed that they have just picked up a diary but there is no evidence of who had given the money to Manoj Sinha, who is Haque's staff. They (ED) have just picked the entries from the diary.

Pahwa had submitted that the link of the proceeds of crime is missing.

He had said: "It is ED's duty to establish the foundation facts of the case. The burden of proof shifts only when trial starts and the charge-sheet is filed."

On December 13, Pahwa had argued that the investigation agency failed to show scheduled offences, and proceeds of crime, and thus, Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act falls flat in the case against Haque.

Pahwa had submitted that what Haque is doing is taking place throughout the country, which is buying cattle auctioned by the government and then selling them in the market.

He had contended that money laundering is not a standalone offence according to the apex court's judgment in the Vijay Madanlal case.

He had argued that the ED is accusing Haque of cattle smuggling under Sections 120B, 420 of the IPC and not bribery. He had added that if cattle are smuggled out of the country then the money has to come to India.

Pahwa had also submitted that the ED is showing two transactions, one of Rs 12.5 crore and Rs 6.1 crore to two different people based on a handwritten diary by Sinha, who has not been charge-sheeted, nor is an accused or his handwriting has been matched.

Moreover, Sinha doesn't even know Haque.

"In fact, the ED is relying on a certified true copy they took from CBI," Pahwa had added.