Tahir Hussain’s bail plea rejected in money laundering case linked to Delhi riots

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The court said there are “statements of witnesses and even the accused/applicant recorded under Section 50 of PMLA which are admissible”.

“To contend that those statements are false or untruthful or contain discrepancies is not to be entertained at this stage,” it said.

On Tahir’s lawyer Rizwan’s argument that a co-accused Amit Gupta was granted pardon and hence the offence of conspiracy cannot survive since the accused cannot conspire with himself, the court said this was an “incorrect proposition”.

“What the law requires for a conspiracy is an involvement of two or more persons. The granting of pardon to one, on his statement and the stand of the prosecution, does not detract from the fact that they were accused in this matter for the offence of money laundering,” the court said.

It said Rizwan’s contention that the “commission of the offence of applicant/accused can be dealt with by the GST Act does not mean that he cannot be prosecuted for the offence of money laundering under PMLA if the ingredients of the PMLA are made out”.

The ED opposed Tahir’s bail by arguing that he was the main conspirator involved in acts of criminal conspiracy, cheating and falsification/forgery of documents, which resulted in fraudulent removal of money from accounts of certain companies.

“Tahir Hussain actively funded anti-CAA protests and riots and was in touch with protesters and rioters… The conspiracy to fraudulently withdraw money through malafide transactions with bogus entry operators on the strength of fake bills was, thus, part of the larger conspiracy to fund and organise the riots in Delhi which led to the loss of lives of many people,” the ED submitted.