Azam Khan Challenges ED Arrest in Money Laundering Case
Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan petitioned the Supreme Court after the Enforcement Directorate detained him for alleged money laundering involving Mohammad Ali Jauhar University.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) detained Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan on October 31, minutes after he was released from Rampur jail on bail in a separate dual PAN card case. A special court in Ghaziabad subsequently ordered Khan into 14 days of judicial custody on Sunday.
The detention is part of a money-laundering investigation involving 58 FIRs filed by the Uttar Pradesh Police. The ED alleges that Khan used his former roles as cabinet minister for urban development and head of the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam to divert government contract funds toward the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and Mohammad Ali Jauhar University. The agency has already attached university land and buildings with an estimated market value of 1,170 crore rupees.
Khan has petitioned the Supreme Court of India to challenge the arrest, which his legal team, led by Kapil Sibal, described as unconstitutional. While the Supreme Court acknowledged the plea and indicated it could be listed during the week, it declined to grant an urgent hearing. Khan claimed he is being targeted for being a Muslim, while Samajwadi Party spokesperson Abbas Haider alleged the BJP government is using central agencies to keep Khan imprisoned.
