Delhi court denies interim bail to Al-Falah chairman in ED case

A Delhi court on Tuesday rejected the interim bail plea of Al-Falah University chairman Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui, accused in a Rs 493-crore money laundering case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), saying that he failed to show that his wife required his exclusive care during cancer treatment.

Additional Sessions Judge Sheetal Chaudhary Pradhan was hearing the plea filed by Siddiqui seeking six weeks' interim bail to look after his wife, who is suffering from stage-4 metastatic ovarian cancer.

In an order, the court said, "Applicant has failed to show that the wife is terminally ill or is unable to take care of her daily routine and requires constant support of the accused/applicant and further, that there is no other adult member or caregiver, who cannot be made available for the wife".

The court said that while Siddiqui's wife was undergoing treatment for a serious ailment, medical records described her condition as stable and did not indicate that she was terminally ill, bedridden or incapable of managing her daily routine.

"It is expected from adult children to take care of their parents in such emergent situation and it cannot be said that the children cannot be a caregiver to their mother," the court said.

Siddiqui was arrested by the Delhi Police Crime Branch in February in connection with alleged financial and administrative irregularities at Al-Falah University and was subsequently taken into custody by the ED in March.

According to the ED, the university allegedly deceived students and parents through false claims of NAAC accreditation and UGC recognition, generating proceeds of crime of around Rs 493.24 crore through fee collections.

The agency alleged Siddiqui siphoned off funds from the Al-Falah Charitable Trust into personal accounts and investment channels and used multiple entities as conduits for laundering the money.

The university had also come under scrutiny after it emerged that Dr Umar Nabi, accused of carrying out the November 2025 Red Fort blast that killed 12 people, had been employed by the institution.

Holding that alternative caregivers were available and that the accused had failed to make out a case for interim bail, the court dismissed the application.