Nobody has complained that I cheated, argues Rana Ayyub as SC reserves order on bail plea

The case relates to Ayyub raising money through crowdfunding platform Ketto in the name of providing Covid19 and other relief. She is alleged to have misused the funds following which the ED registered a case.

Appearing for her, advocate Vrinda Grover told the bench that the Ghaziabad court where the proceedings were pending had no jurisdiction to hear it.

She pointed out that the FIR was lodged at Indirapuram police station on the basis of a complaint by Vikas Sankrityayan, who claims to be co-founder of ‘Hindu IT Cell’. Based on this, the ED had registered a case and the probe was conducted by its Delhi Zonal Office, she said.

Grover also pointed out that the alleged money transactions happened in Mumbai and as such, if any court had the jurisdiction to deal with the case, it is the one in Navi Mumbai.

The counsel also questioned the motives of the complainant and referred to some of his tweets to buttress the argument. “Nobody has complained that I cheated but I am facing money laundering charge. Investigation was transferred from Bombay to Delhi, I don’t know why”, she said.

Countering the arguments, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the ED, said it was not influenced by the background of the complainant. “She has laundered the money. We are only investigating that.”

Contending that the Ghaziabad court had the jurisdiction to deal with the matter, he said many of those who had contributed are also from Ghaziabad and UP and therefore the cause of action partly is also in the state.

“We do not look into the complainant but the merits of the complaint,” he said, adding the agency had carried out a “meticulous investigation”. Mehta also termed the charges “very serious” and added: “People are contributing crores for a good cause without knowing where it goes.”