Did Delhi HC Grant Bail to SDPI Chief Faizy in Money Laundering Case?
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
New Delhi, Feb 16 (NationPress) The Delhi High Court has granted bail to M.K. Faizy, the President of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), in a case concerning money laundering initiated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Faizy, an Islamic scholar and former Masjid Imam from the 1980s, was granted bail by a single-judge Bench led by Justice Neena Bansal Krishna. The comprehensive bail order from the High Court is pending.
Faizy, who co-founded the SDPI, was taken into custody on March 3, 2025, at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED alleges that the SDPI operates as the political arm of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) and is financially reliant on it.
While the SDPI asserts its independence from the PFI, the federal anti-money laundering agency has linked Faizy to Abdul Razak BP, a PFI leader from Kerala, who allegedly transferred Rs 2 lakh to Faizy for fundraising activities.
Investigators claim that the SDPI has received substantial funds through illicit hawala channels, allegedly distributing these funds across its units nationwide.
The PFI, along with its eight affiliates, was banned by the Central Government in 2022 due to its role in promoting radicalization and involvement in terror funding.
Established in 2009 and based in Delhi, the SDPI is viewed as a political front for the PFI. Following the ban on the PFI, multiple agencies, including the NIA and various state police forces, conducted simultaneous raids and enforcement actions against it.
Officials from investigative agencies report that the SDPI has a significant influence in several areas of Kerala and Karnataka, as well as other southern states.