What’s the 8-yr-old Delhi Waqf Board case in which AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan has been arrested by ED

Okhla MLA was arrested after being questioned for 6 hrs. In January, ED had filed a chargesheet over alleged irregularities in recruitment in Delhi Waqf Board under his chairmanship.

AAP's Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan after an ED team raided his residence in New Delhi on Tuesday | ANI

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Monday arrested Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Amanatullah Khan as part of its probe into the alleged irregularities in the Delhi Waqf Board during his chairmanship of the board.

A team of the agency’s Delhi Zonal office arrived around 7 am at Khan’s residence in Jamia Nagar area and arrested him around noon, sources in the agency told ThePrint.

The arrest pertains to the case in which the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had in November 2016 booked Khan and other unknown persons under relevant sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act

Releasing a video statement, Khan alleged that an ED team reached his residence to arrest him in the case despite him answering to all the previous notices in the case.

“I am not afraid of going to jail and I am ready to go to jail. I have been framed in a fake case since 2016 being investigated by the CBI, ED and also the Anti Corruption Bureau. I have not done anything that I should be disheartened,” the Okhla MLA said in a video statement.

दिल्ली में माहौल बिगाड़ने के लिए BJP का हथियार बनी हुई है ED❗️

🔷 आज जिस मामले में ED सुबह-सुबह मेरे घर पर धावा बोलने पहुंची, वह पूरा मामला ही फर्जी है pic.twitter.com/okiGGkcxc2

— Amanatullah Khan AAP (@KhanAmanatullah) September 2, 2024

In April, the ED had questioned Khan for nearly 12 hours and recorded his statement. Khan had appeared before the agency after missing its summons on the order of the Supreme Court, which had 15 April refused to entertain his anticipatory bail application.

The agency had in October last year raided 13 locations linked to the AAP MLA, including his Jamia Nagar residence, and had claimed to have recovered “incriminating records and evidence in the form of physical and digital which indicate his role in money laundering.”

The charges

In a complaint to the CBI, a Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of the Delhi government’s revenue department alleged appointment of several key functionaries of the Delhi Waqf Board while by-passing the Lieutenant-Governor (L-G), who is the competent authority.

The SDM alleged that two days after Khan was elected the Waqf Board chairman on 12 March 2016, a resolution was passed at his behest to appoint a new Chief Executive Officer of the board despite the services department having appointed a CEO already on 4 March.

Based on the resolution, Khan sent a proposal to the Divisional Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the revenue department regarding the appointment of CEO but the secretary responded seeking discussion on rules of appointment.

However, Khan allegedly sent a proposal directly to the chief minister in contravention of the norms whereby he appointed a CEO he had proposed.

Furthermore, the Waqf Board allegedly appointed 33 ad-hoc employees as contractual staff, consolidated staff, staff dealing with matters of the National Waqf Development Corporation Limited, daily wages, standing counsels and additional standing counsels for a period of 89 days without consulting the L-G.

The SDM alleged that these employees were put on contractual basis only because any permanent appointment would have brought the illegality of the process to light. The appointments caused the exchequer a loss of Rs 8 lakh per month, he alleged.

The complainant further alleged that a committee set up by the L-G submitted that tenancies were allowed at the Waqf properties without inviting bids and at lower rates just at reserved price in violation of established rule. The matter of tenancies were handled by one appointed consultant allegedly despite no such post sanctioned by the competent authority.

The board during Khan’s chairmanship is said to have gone beyond the constitution of the Waqf Board and set up a Vigilance Committee and paid one of its members more than Rs 1 lakh per month without resolution of the board members.

In 2022, the CBI filed a charge sheet in the case following which Khan got bail in March 2023 from a Delhi Court, which stated in the order that there were no allegations of demand or acceptance of bribes for alleged illegal appointments.

“… the above appointments of the accused are stated to have been made for a short duration of 89 days only and alleged loss of ₹27,20,494 (Rs 27.20 lakh) caused to the government is not because of any undue advantage or benefits derived by the main accused, that is Amanatullah Khan or others, but the said loss is alleged to be the amount of salaries and emoluments which have been paid to the above appointees or the other co-accused against the work done by them on the posts to which they were so appointed,” the court had mentioned in the bail order.

The Delhi government’s Anti Corruption Branch (ACB), which is under the L-G, had in September 2022 arrested Khan on similar charges such as illegal appointments and renting of Waqf properties, thereby causing loss to the exchequer. The ACB had said it recovered Rs 24 lakh in cash during raids at premises linked to Khan on 16 September, 2016.

A week later after arrest, Khan again got relief from a Delhi court, which rejected allegations of the ACB. The judge had observed that based on documents of tenancies of 15 properties, it was apparent that tenancies were created at a higher rent compared to previous years and that it was above the reserved price.

The court had noted that Khan, as the chairman, had no exclusive control over the Waqf fund and that there was no evidence on record that contractually employed workers were paid salaries without discharging duties.

The ED took cognisance of the CBI FIR and filed an Enforcement Complaint Information Report (its version of FIR). In January, it filed a prosecution complaint (chargesheet) against Zeeshan Haider, Daud Nasir and Jawed Imam Siddiqui—three alleged aides of Khan— but the AAP MLA was not named as accused.

The agency had alleged that Khan made wrongful gains by illegally leasing Waqf properties and used approximately Rs 8 crore out of the gains to purchase a property in Jamia Nagar.

The ED issued five summons to Khan seeking his appearance but he skipped first citing his previous commitments and later on the grounds that his anticipatory bail application was up for hearing in the trial court.

However, after the Supreme Court set aside his plea and ordered him to appear before the agency, he deposed before ED sleuths in April when he was questioned for 12 hours.

(Edited by Tony Rai)