New Delhi, March 12 The Enforcement Directorate 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 representing the agency told Justice Saurabh Banerjee that Siddiqui's wife's ill health was only a "ploy" to obtain the relief, and that the trial court's decision was perverse and contrary to the mandate of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
He also argued that the trial court's finding that the couple's children could not return to India due to the ongoing crisis in West Asia was contrary to reality.
The court issued a notice to Siddiqui and listed the matter for further hearing on March 19.
Siddiqui's counsel assured that he would not seek bail in other cases against him for now.
On March 7, the trial court granted Siddiqui a two-week interim bail 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 granted the relief to allow him to care for 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, representing the agency, said that 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 numerous flights operating between the UAE and India. So, it's completely illogical to say that because there is a war, children can't come back," he said.
"If her condition was so grave, they would have come back. This is being used as a ploy to secure interim bail. There is a perverse finding that they can't return. This is completely contrary to the facts," he added.
The ED's counsel submitted that the accused's wife's health was stable and there was no emergency situation. In any case, PMLA considers the accused's health in bail matters, and not that of the wife, he contended.
Hossain further argued that the trial court wrongly granted relief to the accused as the "two conditions" for release under PMLA applied even in cases of interim bail, and that the order was being used to gain relief in other cases against Siddiqui.
"The antecedents of this person have been completely ignored. This gentleman has connections with 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 at Al Falah University. There is a likelihood of committing the offence again," he stated.
The court was also informed that according to 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 representing Siddiqui defended the trial court's decision, saying he is a respected academician, and that "not every FIR" constitutes antecedents for PMLA.
He also said that 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's investigation 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 that 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.
