NEW DELHI, Oct 17:
The money laundering case against Tarique Ahmed Dar, who had allegedly masterminded and funded the 2005 Diwali-eve blasts at key markets here, has been sent back to a Delhi court which was earlier conducting the trial.
District Judge Sunita Gupta has sent back the case of Enforcement Directorate (ED) to Special Judge (PMLA) P S Teji on the ground that she has not yet received an official copy of the notification by which the special judge had transferred the case to her.
The special judge, in his order, had said that as per the June 28 notification, the jurisdiction to try the cases of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has been assigned to all the courts of Sessions and Additional Sessions Judges in respect of their district.
The district judge, however said in her order that she cannot transfer the case without having the official copy of the notification.
The file was today received back by the special judge who had now fixed November 22 for further proceedings in the case.
The special judge had earlier transferred the case of ED to the District Judge to mark the file to the concerned court where the trial of the blasts case against Dar, who is lodged in Tihar Jail, is going on.
Dar is accused of masterminding the explosions which had taken place during the peak evening hours on October 29, 2005 here, leaving 67 people dead and 225 injured.
The special judge had said that with this notification, apparently, now the court conducting the original trial is competent to try the case under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The trial in the money laundering case against Dar has been conducted by the special judge.
ED had filed a charge sheet against Dar for receiving illegal funds from abroad after the Special Cell of Delhi Police probed the case.
The court had in May this year framed charges against Dar under stringent PMLA. ED had, in 2009, attached Dar’s four bank accounts which had a cumulative balance of slightly under Rs six lakh as “proceeds of crime” under PMLA.
Dar, as per the ED charge sheet, had received nearly Rs five lakh from Dubai just two days before the blasts.
The ED charge sheet said Dar was the main person behind these blasts and was regularly in contact with Abu Al Kama, operative of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
In the main blast case, Dar and three of his associates were charged with offences, including murder and waging war against the nation, under the IPC, the Explosive Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Dar is also accused of carrying out blasts in Paharganj and Kalkaji on the same day besides facing charges for committing similar offences in Sarojini Nagar market blast in which 50 people were killed and over 200 injured.
The Paharganj blast claimed 17 lives while the Kalkaji blast left over two dozen people injured. (PTI)
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