Lucknow, May 20

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/163033/hc-quashes-amar-singhs-plea.html

In a setback to expelled Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, the Allahabad High Court on Friday rejected his prayer for quashing an FIR registered against him in connection with Rs 500 crore money laundering and directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to conduct a probe into the matter and submit a report.

A Division Bench comprising Justices Imtiaz Murtaza and S S Tewari in its order said the matter needed a thorough probe. Since the shell companies to whom money was allegedly transferred were registered in different states, the ED was the right agency to probe the case.

Lucknow-based lawyer Shivakant Tripathi had in 2009 lodged a case at a Kanpur police station charging Amar Singh with money laundering through shell companies.

The complainant alleged that Singh had committed the fraud while he was the chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Development Council in 2003 during the Mulayam Singh regime.

‘Politically motivated’

Amar Singh had moved the High Court seeking quashing of the FIR against him on the ground that they were “politically motivated.”

Senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani had appeared for Amar Singh.The court directed the ED to start the investigation within two weeks and submit a status report within a month. It posted the matter for further hearing in July next.