Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan moved the Supreme Court on Monday against his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a fresh money laundering case, with the bench saying the plea may be listed for hearing during the week but declining to grant it an urgent hearing.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana took note of submissions by Khan's counsel Nizam Pasha. The Chief Justice said the matter was likely to be heard during the week, though the request for urgent listing was turned down.
The development follows a special court in Ghaziabad sending the 78-year-old to 14 days of judicial custody on Sunday in the money laundering case linked to the Jauhar Trust. He was produced before the court under heavy security, his lawyer said, while scores of supporters gathered outside the premises for a glimpse of him. Khan has faced a string of criminal cases in recent years.
The Enforcement Directorate arrested Khan on October 31, soon after he and his son Abdullah Azam Khan came out of Rampur jail on bail in an alleged dual PAN card matter.
According to the agency, it registered the case against Khan and others after taking note of 58 FIRs that the Uttar Pradesh Police had filed against him and his alleged associates, and it has alleged that government funds meant for public works were diverted to construct the private university in Rampur.
The case centres on the Jauhar Trust and the Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur, and turns on alleged financial irregularities at both. On October 28, the agency said it had attached land and buildings belonging to the university under the anti-money laundering law, putting their market value at Rs 1,170 crore. The agency alleged that Khan used his influence as the state's urban development minister and over the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam to facilitate the alleged irregularities.
In July, the Rampur Development Authority had ordered 38 buildings on the campus to be demolished, prompting an appeal by the university. The agency had also searched premises in August and questioned Khan in the same probe.
Khan stays in judicial custody in the Jauhar Trust case, and with no urgent listing granted, his plea is expected to come up during the week. The 14-day custody order was passed by the special Ghaziabad court, while the arrest itself is under challenge in the top court. The agency's allegations about diverted government funds and the attachment of university assets are yet to be tested in court.
(With inputs from media reports)