Hasan Ali gets no HC relief

Pune businessman Hasan Ali Khan was refused interim protection against arrest by the Bombay High Court on Wednesday.

Khan filed an anticipatory bail application on February 7 following the Worli police registering a FIR against him for allegedly holding three passports. He will now have to wait till February 20 for the court to hear the case.

Justice DG Karnik on Wednesday refused to grant interim relief to Khan saying that it would not be appropriate to pass an order without hearing the assistant passport officer who filed the FIR on February 5 and the union government.

The court has now directed notices to be issued to the two for impleading them as parties in the petition and adjourned the case till February 20.

Khan had sought protection from arrest stating that the allegations of the passport authorities were “baseless and scandalous”.

Representing Khan, noted criminal lawyer Majeed Memon told the court that Khan possessed only one passport which was in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

He added that he had once lost his passport in London but was provided with a duplicate passport by the Indian Embassy there and that was his only passport.

Khan has moved another application before the HC seeking return of his and his wife Rheema’s passport. However in reply to that application the ED had stated that Khan owned three passports and was worth Rs8 billion (Rs 32,000 crore) and his possible terror links needed to be probed.

Khan contended that allegations of were “ill-founded” as they relied on “hypothetical and presumptuous” conclusions of the ED.