New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS): The Delhi High Court on Wednesday adjourned for Thursday a hearing on a petition filed by sacked AAP councillor and northeast Delhi riots accused Tahir Hussain challenging a trial court order extending his remand in a money laundering case related to the violence by three days.
A single-judge bench of Justice Yogesh Khanna while adjourning the matter for further hearing on Thursday asked senior advocate K.K. Manon, counsel for the petitioner, to place the judgement which he is citing to support his case on record.
During the course of hearing, Manon appraised the bench that it is held by the Supreme Court in a catena of judgments that 15 days' period for grant of police custody has to begin from the date of formal arrest, and thus, further extension is not permissible in law.
Earlier on Monday, a Delhi court extended the Enforcement Directorate custody of Hussain till September 10 in a money laundering case against him in connection with the riots in northeast Delhi.
The Enforcement Directorate had moved the court seeking nine days' further custody of the former leader on Saturday. The agency had earlier submitted that scheduled offences of money laundering are attracted in three FIRs registered against him in relation to the riots in February.
Advocates Amit Mahajan and Naveen Kumar Matta, appearing for ED, had submitted that Hussain entered into a criminal conspiracy by fraudulently transferring money from the accounts of many companies.
"The money so obtained are proceeds of crime which were then used for committing various other scheduled offences. We need further remand of him to confront him with several documents etc," the ED stated in its plea.
The lawyers also submitted that ED has also conducted searches at various premises and several incriminating documents and digital devices were recovered and seized from the accused's possessions.
On August 27, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) had cancelled the membership of Hussain and he is no longer a Municipal Councillor from Aam Aadmi Party. He was suspended from the post after his name cropped up pursuant to the riots.