New Delhi, Mar 12 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday challenged in the Delhi High Court the two-week interim bail granted to Al Falah University group chairman Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui in a money laundering case, arguing that the trial court did not consider his involvement in the Red Fort blast case.
The counsel appearing for the agency contended before Justice Saurabh Banerjee that the ill health of Siddiqui’s wife was only a “ruse” to secure the relief and the trial court’s decision was perverse and contrary to the mandate of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
He also submitted that the trial court’s finding that the couple’s children could not come to India due to the ongoing crisis in West Asia was contrary to the ground reality.
The court issued notice to Siddiqui and listed the matter for further hearing on March 19.
Siddiqui’s counsel assured that he would not press for bail in the other cases against him for now.
On March 7, the trial court granted two-week interim bail to Siddiqui in the money laundering case linked to the alleged generation of illicit funds from the fees paid by students of his Faridabad-based educational institution.
The trial court had granted the relief to allow him to take care of his wife, who is undergoing treatment for stage 4 ovarian cancer.
While granting the relief, the trial court considered that the couple’s three children were studying in the UAE and unable to travel to India due to the unrest in West Asia, leaving the woman without immediate family support.
Advocate Zoheb Hossain, appearing for the agency, said if 52,000 Indians could return from the UAE, their children could have returned as well.
“In the last week alone, 52,000 Indians have come back to India on a large number of flights that are operating between UAE and India. So complete perversity that because there is a war, children can’t come back,” he said.
“If the condition of mother was so grave, they would have come back. This is being used as ruse to give interim bail. There is a perverse finding that they can’t come back. It is completely contrary to the facts,” he added.
The ED’s counsel submitted that the health condition of the accused’s wife was stable and there was no emergency as such. In any case, PMLA considers the ill health of the accused in matters of bail, and not that of the wife carves an exception, the counsel contended.
Hossain further submitted that the trial court wrongly granted relief to the accused as the “twin conditions” for release under PMLA applied even in cases of interim bail and the order was being used to gain relief in the others cases against Siddiqui.
“Antecedent of this person has been completely ignored. The gentleman has antecedents connected to the FIR in the Red Fort blast case. He is an accused in those cases…in fact, the terrorists are closely connected with him and were working for him in Al Falah University. There is likelihood of committing the offence again,” he stated.
The court was also informed that as per the prosecution complaint, the total proceeds of crime was Rs 494 crore, out of which only Rs 144 crore worth of assets have been attached.
The senior lawyer appearing for Siddiqui defended the trial court’s decision, saying he is a respectable academician and that “not every FIR” counted as antecedents for PMLA.
He also said the condition of the accused’s wife was serious.
“This is a case of framing a person. Complete abuse and misuse of the PMLA. This man was not involved in any way in the scheduled offence or in this case,” he said.
Siddiqui was arrested on November 18, 2025 in the case registered by the ED under the PMLA and linked to the alleged cheating of students enrolled in institutions run by the Al Falah Charitable Trust.
The ED probe in the money laundering case stems from two FIRs by the Delhi Police Crime Branch alleging that Al Falah University falsely projected NAAC accreditation and UGC recognition to mislead students and parents.
The ED has alleged the university generated Rs 415.10 crore between 2018 and 2025 and that funds collected from students were diverted for personal use.
The varsity had also come under scrutiny in a ‘white-collar terror’ probe in which two doctors linked to it were arrested, while another doctor, Umar-un-Nabi, associated with its hospital was identified as the suicide bomber in the November 10 blast outside the Red Fort that killed 15 people. PTI ADS KVK KVK
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