Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Jan 25: The hearing in the money laundering case against journalist Rana Ayyub was postponed by the Supreme Court on Wednesday and will now take place on any day after January 31 in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
The decision was made by a court panel made up of Justices Krishna Murari and V. Ramasubramanian since Ayyub’s appeal of the summons issued by the Ghaziabad court would be heard on January 31.
“We will hear the case on January 31. In the meantime Ghaziabad Special Court Anti corruption 1 is requested to adjourn the hearing fixed for January 27 to a date after January 31. This order is being passed because hearing cannot be concluded (by Supreme Court) due to paucity of time and not on merits,” the apex court ordered.
A trial court in Ghaziabad has summoned Ayyub in connection with a case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Ayyub filed a petition with the Supreme Court, arguing that because the complaint was filed in Mumbai and the Delhi Zonal Office of the ED was conducting an investigation, the UP court lacks jurisdiction to hear the case.
The bench stated today that it would not have time to hear the case on the merits since it must rise early.
On November 29, Special Judge Vatsal Srivastava had ruled that there was enough evidence to establish a prima facie case against her after reviewing the full record.
Based on a First Information Report (FIR) filed against Ayyub in September 2021 by the Indirapuram Police Station in Ghaziabad under the Indian Penal Code, Information Technology Amendment Act, and Black Money Act, the ED launched a money laundering probe.
The FIR claimed that she ran fundraising cto the web platform Ketto in order to solicit money from the public illegally under the guise of charity. It was also alleged that Ayyub received foreign contributions without registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).
