New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan’s anticipatory bail application in a money laundering case related to alleged irregularities in the Delhi Waqf Board during his chairmanship and ordered him to join the investigation.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta asked Khan to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on April 18 at 11 a.m.
“You arrest him in case if there is material and in case there is no material don’t arrest him. You will have to follow the procedure under section 19 of the PMLA. We take it that you will not arrest him unless you satisfy yourself with regard to section 19. It should not be taken for granted that if he appears, he will be arrested,” the bench told Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the ED.
Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) allows Enforcement Directorate to arrest a person based on material in its possession that suggests
the person has committed an offence punishable under the law.
The bench took exception to certain observations made in the March 11 verdict of the Delhi High Court with regard to the merit of the case and said it will not have any bearing in the matter.