New Delhi, Feb 13 (IANS) The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued a notice to AAP legislator Amanatullah Khan in connection with the Delhi Waqf Board money laundering case. A bench of Justice Vikash Mahajan was hearing a plea filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) challenging the trial court’s refusal to take cognisance of a charge sheet filed against Amanatullah Khan. Asking Amanatullah Khan to respond to the ED’s plea, the Justice Mahajan-led Bench directed the trial court to defer the proceedings till March 21.

On November 14 last year, the Rouse Avenue Court refused to take cognisance of a prosecution complaint filed by the federal anti-money laundering agency against Amanatullah Khan, saying that while there was sufficient evidence to proceed against the former Chairman of the Waqf Board under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the charge sheet was filed without obtaining the requisite sanction under the law. Thereafter, Special Judge Jitendra Singh had ordered that the AAP MLA from Delhi’s Okhla constituency should be released from custody, on furnishing Rs 1 lakh personal bond with a surety of the like amount.

The ED is investigating suspected money laundering related to alleged wrongful appointment of employees and leasing of assets of the Delhi Waqf Board during the tenure of Amanatullah Khan as its head. Khan was arrested soon after the ED searched the legislator’s house in south Delhi’s Okhla area. The agency alleged that the MLA bought a property worth over Rs 35 crore in Okhla. The legislator is also facing allegations of using corruption money to buy properties in the name of his aides. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has also filed separate corruption cases against the AAP legislator.

The case dates back to November 2016 when a complaint was filed against Khan, who was the then Chairman of the Waqf Board. The complaint accused him of making illegal appointments to various approved and non-approved positions within the Board. Following a CBI investigation, it was revealed that Khan had deliberately ignored the rules to appoint his close associates. The CBI registered a case, which was later taken up by the ED for a money laundering probe.

/IANS