Delhi High Court Grants Bail in PFI Money Laundering Case

The Delhi High Court has granted bail to three members of the banned Popular Front of India's Delhi unit in a money laundering case. The court found that the Prevention of Money Laundering Act was not applicable as no scheduled offence was committed to generate proceeds of crime.

The Delhi High Court has granted bail to three members of the Popular Front of India (PFI) in connection with an alleged money laundering case. The decision came as the court observed that the Prevention of Money Laundering Act's provisions were not met, as no scheduled offence was committed to generate the alleged proceeds of crime.

Justice Jasmeet Singh, in his judgment, noted that the collection of funds by Parvez Ahmed, Mohd Ilyas, and Abdul Muqeet occurred before any criminal activity, specifically the Delhi riots. Hence, the act of collecting funds in itself does not constitute money laundering under the PMLA.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which registered the case following an FIR by the National Investigation Agency, had alleged the trio's involvement in fundraising for the PFI's illicit activities. However, the court found insufficient evidence to sustain these charges, leading to their release on bail with specific conditions.

(With inputs from agencies.)