Waqf Board case: Amanatullah Khan withdraws plea against ED summons from Delhi HC

New Delhi: AAP MLA and Waqf Board chief Amanatullah Khan on Wednesday withdrew from the Delhi High Court his plea challenging the summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a Rs 36 crore property case.

On February 1, the court had refused to stay the summons, and had earlier refused to give immediate relief to Khan against the summons saying that relief cannot be sought at the last minute.

The division bench of Justices Rekha Palli and Rajnish Bhatnagar now dismissed the plea as withdrawn.

The court had earlier also sought clarification on when the summons was initially issued.

Khan had challenged the constitutional validity of Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and has also sought a directive to quash the cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) and the ED.

The bench had refused to issue notice on Khan's plea challenging the FIR registered by ACB, and the summons and investigation in the matter.

"While adjourning the matter at the request of the counsel appearing for the petitioner, it is made clear that neither the court has issued notice in the petition nor any interim order has been granted," the court had said.

Special Judge Rakesh Syal, of the Rouse Avenue Courts, had recently taken cognisance of an ED charge sheet filed in the case. The ED had filed the charge sheet against Zeeshan Haider, his partnership firm Skypower, Javed Imam Siddiqui, Dawood Nasir, and Qausar Imam Siddiqui. The case pertains to a property worth Rs 36 crore being allegedly acquired with illicit funds, purportedly influenced by Khan, who reportedly handed over Rs 8 crore in cash.

Questioned about Khan's role, the ED's counsel had said that further investigation related to others is ongoing. Counsel had submitted that the accusations in the predicate offence pertain to irregularities in the Delhi Waqf Board, where Khan was allegedly involved in corrupt practices, including misappropriation of Rs 100 crore and providing jobs.

During the investigation, the ED considered FIRs filed earlier by the CBI, ACB, and the Delhi Police. The ACB sought a PMLA investigation against Khan, alleging properties were acquired in Delhi, Telangana, and Uttarakhand with alleged ill-gotten money.

Searches at premises owned by Hamid Ali Khan and Qausar Imam Siddiqui revealed incriminating evidence and illegal weapons. The recovered diaries suggested high-value transactions between Khan and Javed Imam Siddiqui, including the purchase of the Rs 36 crore plot in Tikona Park, Okhla.

The court was informed that an agreement to sell off Rs 36 crore, recovered from the accused's mobile, was manipulated, indicating tampering with evidence. The ED said that the property was bought at Khan's behest, and the court was presented with evidence of Rs 27 crore cash transaction, making it a compelling case to summon the accused persons.