Delhi court sends Al-Falah University founder to 13-day ED custody

NEW DELHI: During a dramatic late-night hearing, a Delhi court sent Al-Falah University founder Jawed Ahmed Siddiqui to 13 days of Enforcement Directorate custody early Wednesday, a few hours after his arrest in a terror-linked money-laundering investigation.

Siddiqui, arrested on Tuesday evening (November 18), was brought before Additional Sessions Judge Sheetal Chaudhary Pradhan at her residence near midnight. The hearing continued beyond 1 am., with the court eventually granting the agency’s plea for an extended remand.

The judge mentioned that all procedural requirements under Section 19 of the PMLA had been followed and added that the “gravity of the allegations” and the “nascent stage of investigation” justified Siddiqui’s custodial remand.

The ED said Al-Falah University falsely projected itself as a UGC-recognised institution and misrepresented its NAAC accreditation, allegedly luring students under deceptive claims.

The probe agency said the Al-Falah group earned Rs 415.10 crore as revenue from education between 2018 and 2025, with earnings increasing rapidly from Rs 24.21 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 80.10 crore in 2024-25. Investigators said that such a rapid surge is not in consonance with the financial statements of the concerned entities.

“The financials of the group do not justify the huge accumulation of assets,” the ED told the court, terming the rise “meteoric” and at variance with the reported income.

Special Public Prosecutor Simon Benjamin, appearing for ED, contended that the investigation has brought forth a pattern where student fees and funds raised through misrepresentation were syphoned off for personal and private expenditure.

Benjamin said that a number of people have corroborated Siddiqui’s personal involvement in central financial decisions and referred to him as the “controlling mind” behind the Al-Falah Charitable Trust and its institutions.