The Supreme Court on Nov. 5 declined to give immediate relief to Samajwadi Party leader Mohd. Azam Khan in his challenge to an Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrest. The court sent his petition to the Allahabad High Court for hearing.
Khan, former Uttar Pradesh minister, alleges the ED arrested him 40 minutes after he left jail on Oct. 29. He walked out after the Allahabad High Court suspended his 7-year prison sentence in the dual PAN card case. The ED then arrested him in a related case.
A bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi ordered the transfer of case records to the High Court within two days. It directed the Registrar General to place the matter before the Chief Justice for listing before a division bench on Nov. 16. The court made no comment on the merits. It allowed Khan to amend his petition and file additional documents.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared for Khan, called the arrest ‘pure persecution’. He argued the ED took Khan into custody after he had won relief in all other cases. Sibal told the court Khan is 80 years old and faces 28 more cases. He said Khan wants bail and fears he will die in jail. He alleged the arrest is mala fide and aims to keep Khan in custody during the coming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
Khan’s petition seeks cancellation of the ED arrest and the judicial custody remand order. It also challenges the Nov. 1 order of the special court.