Hasan Ali gets conditional bail, ED fails to make its case
11 Mar 2011
A Mumbai sessions court today granted conditional bail to alleged tax evader Hasan Ali Khan on surety of Rs75,000 as justice ML Tahilyani said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had failed to make a case against Khan, who is accused to have stashed away nearly $8 billion abroad.
Tahilyani held that the documents produced by the ED cannot serve as the basis for a case linking Khan to money laundering.
Khan was granted bail on a surety of Rs75,000. The court passed orders for Khan to stay in Mumbai for the next five days. The court said the ED can question him for the next 48 hours.
The court further observed Khan's custody cannot be given to ED due to lack of substantial evidence.
Questioning the ED for failing to make a case against Khan, the court observed that it was difficult to say if the documents submitted by the ED were genuine.
However, according to special public prosecutor Rajiv Awasthi, the agency was in possession of "overwhelming evidences" against Khan which the court "failed to appreciate ".
Awasthi said Khan's remand was required as the ED had vital links on the issue. He added that the agency needed to have Khan's custodial interrogation.
He said the ED woudl first secure a copy of the verdict and then appeal in a higher court as per the law.