New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday sought Enforcement Directorate’s response on an application filed by Bilquies Shah, wife of Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah, seeking quashing of a 2007 money laundering case related to alleged terror financing.
Justice Sanjeev Narula issued notice to ED for its response and posted the hearing for September 26.
Bilquies is accused of receiving Rs 2.08 crore from co-accused Mohammad Aslam Wani.
Advocate M S Khan, appearing for Bilquies, said the predicate offence related case, based on which the ED lodged the present FIR, was against Wani, who was acquitted of all offences except for possession of arms by a trial court in November 2010.
The high court in October 2017 upheld the trial court 2010 order.
“Consequently, the allegations by the prosecution regarding the generation of proceeds of crime from criminal activities related to the scheduled offence do not hold water. This perfectly aligns with the legal principle that if the underlying scheduled offence does not stand, the related proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) also falls flat,” Khan argued.
The high court on July 23 issued notice to ED on a similar plea of Wani.
“Issue similar order,” the court said on Monday.
Charges against Wani and Shabir Shah were framed in January 2017, and later in 2021 Bilquies was arrayed as an accused by a supplementary chargesheet in the case.
Khan said despite the nearly seven years, only four of the 33 witnesses were examined.
The ED action against the two was in relation to an August 2005 case, in which Delhi Police’s Special Cell arrested Wani, a dealer who claimed that he passed on Rs 2.25 crore to Shah.
In 2010, a Delhi court cleared Wani of terror funding charges but convicted him under the Arms Act.
The ED registered a criminal case under PMLA against Shah and Wani.
Wani was arrested allegedly with Rs 63 lakh, received through “hawala” channels from the Middle East, and a large cache of ammunition, on August 26, 2005.
He allegedly told the police that Rs 50 lakh was to be delivered to Shah and Rs 10 lakh to Jaish-e-Mohammad area commander in Srinagar, Abu Baqar, and that the rest was his commission.
Wani, who hails from Srinagar, also claimed delivering around Rs 2.25 crore to Shah and his kin in multiple installments.
