Today, 15th April,The High Court asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to provide evidence supporting Tahir Hussain’s plea to dismiss the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case. The case related to the 2020 riots, and the court reviewing the maintainability of the plea in this context. Tahir Hussain seeks to have the PMLA case against him deemed not maintainable, and the court is awaiting ED’s submissions to make a decision.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court requested the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to provide written submissions supporting its argument that former A leader Tahir Hussain‘s request to dismiss a money laundering case against him in relation to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots not valid.
The court, presided over by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, issued this order after the ED’s lawyer questioned the validity of Hussain’s petition. The court scheduled the hearing for September and allowed Hussain’s lawyer to file a response to the ED’s reply.
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Furthermore, the high court also requested the trial court records to be presented at the next hearing.
Hussain, who being represented by senior advocate Maneka Guruswamy, seeking the dismissal of the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), which the ED’s version of a First Information Report (FIR) filed in March 2020 under Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The ED’s lawyer argued that a similar petition previously filed and dismissed by the high court.
However, Hussain’s lawyer opposed this argument, stating that the previous petition a revision plea challenging the framing of charges, while the current one seeking the quashing of the ED’s complaint. On November 24, 2022, the high court rejected Hussain’s plea challenging the framing of money laundering charges against him, stating that a “prima facie” case established.
According to the ED’s complaint, Hussain “fraudulently” withdrew money from the bank accounts of companies owned or controlled by him through bogus entry operators based on counterfeit bills.
Delhi Police filed three First Information Reports (FIRs) against Hussain and others under various sections of the Indian Penal Code in relation to the riots. As a result of these FIRs, investigations initiated, and the ED registered an ECIR against Hussain on March 9, 2020.