Delhi HC Seeks ED Response On Aslam Wani’s Plea To Quash Money Laundering Case
Wani was arrested in July 2017 along with co-accused Shabir Shah, based on a money laundering case registered by the ED in 2007;
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on a petition filed by Mohammad Aslam Wani, seeking quashing of the money laundering case registered against him in 2007.
Wani, who was arrested in connection with an alleged terror funding case, has approached the court arguing that the PMLA proceedings against him are unsustainable following his acquittal in the predicate offence.
The plea came up before Justice Sanjeev Narula, who sought a response from the agency and posted the matter for further hearing on September 26.
Wani’s counsel submitted that the basis for the ED’s money laundering case no longer survives since the principal allegations under which he was first charged, relating to terror funding, have already been set aside. He pointed out that while Wani was convicted under the Arms Act, the trial court had acquitted him of all terror-related charges in 2010, and this acquittal was upheld by the High Court in 2017.
It was further argued that since PMLA proceedings are contingent upon the existence of a scheduled offence, the absence of any surviving charge of terror funding renders the ED’s case legally untenable.
The counsel submitted that the Arms Act conviction, which related only to possession and not trafficking or profiteering, cannot attract the provisions of the PMLA. He also highlighted that charges in the PMLA case were framed in 2017 but the trial has barely progressed, with only a handful of witnesses examined in over seven years.
Wani was arrested in July 2017 along with co-accused Shabir Shah, based on a money laundering case registered by the ED in 2007.
He was later granted bail in 2019.
In his plea before the High Court, Wani has argued that continuing proceedings against him under the PMLA despite the collapse of the foundational terror case amounts to an abuse of process and violates settled principles of criminal law.
The court, after hearing brief submissions, directed the ED to file its reply and scheduled the matter for late September.
Case Title: Mohammad Aslam Wani v. Enforcement Directorate
Date: July 23, 2025
Bench: Justice Sanjeev Narula