HC refuses to grant anticipatory bail to AAP MLA

New Delhi New Delhi, India - Feb. 10, 2015: AAP wining candidate Amanatullah Khan wins from Okhla arrives for first meeting with Arvind Kejriwal at Constitution Club in New Delhi, India, on Tuesday, February 10, 2015. The Delhi high court on Monday refused to grant anticipatory bail to Aam Aadmi Party legislator Amanatullah Khan in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the recruitment of staff for the Delhi Waqf Board being probed the Enforcement Directorate, saying that repeated disobedience of the federal agency’s summons is equivalent to obstruction of the investigation. On Monday, the high court took note of the fact that Khan had refused to join the ED probe despite the issuance of six summons, and opined that MLAs are not above the law, adding that cooperating with investigating agencies by a public figure is public service. Cooperating with investigating agency by a public figure too is public service, as the public is entitled to know from the legal representative about the allegations levelled by an investigating agency on the basis of statements of witnesses recorded under Section 50 PMLA which are in nature of judicial proceedings and admissible in law, and on the basis of evidence collected during investigation,” the court said in a 59-page verdict. The judge opined that Khan’s failure to cooperate with the federal agency had set a “perilous precedent”, and that refusal to assist, aid, provide relevant information and appear before the probe agency, amounts to obstructing the law enforcement agencies from performing their duties of investigating cases.