The Delhi High Court has refused to grant six-week interim bail to Al Falah University Group chairman Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui, who is detained in two money laundering cases.
However, Justice Saurabh Banerjee allowed Siddiqui to meet his wife – a stage IV ovarian cancer patient – on parole on three dates.
My friend requested temporary bail on the grounds that his wife’s health was critical and he wanted to be with her at this stage of her life.
Justice Banerjee observed that there was no indication of any “emergency” and in fact the medical record showed that Siddiqui’s wife’s condition was not deteriorating but improving.
The judge also said Siddiqui may be a flight risk and could influence witnesses or attempt to tamper with evidence if he is released.
“Although this Court is sympathetic to the medical condition of the applicant’s wife, having regard to the seriousness and nature of the allegations leveled against the applicant, the state of the proceedings, the role assigned to him, his status and position in the university/society, this court is of the view that the legal rules governing the grant of bail cannot be relaxed solely on humanitarian considerations and, more so, in the absence of any urgent and/or exceptional circumstance warranting the immediate release of the applicant.” The court said in its order dated July 13.
“This court is not inclined to grant interim bail to the present applicant at this stage. However, in order to balance the equity while also keeping in view a humanitarian point of view, this court deems it appropriate to grant conditional custody to the applicant for a period of three days, i.e. 21.07.2026, 23.07.2026 and 25.07.2026,” it said.
Considering that Siddiqui is a high-risk undertrial, the court directed the prison superintendent to make adequate security arrangements for his conditional release from custody and ensure that he can meet his ailing wife at the specified address on 21, 23 and 25 July between 10:00 a.m. and 04:00 p.m.
The court explained that during this period he would only be allowed to meet his wife, and not anyone else.
Conditional release from detention requires that the prisoner be accompanied by armed police to the place of visit.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) opposed the interim bail applications.
The ED attorney raised concerns about evidence tampering and Siddiqui escaping legal action if he were released, and suggested he be allowed to meet his wife while in parole detention instead.
Siddiqui had asked the Supreme Court for a six-week interim bail after the court refused to grant him a reprieve on June 9.
He was arrested in two money laundering cases.
One of the money laundering cases is related to the alleged generation of illicit funds from fees paid by students of his educational institution in Faridabad.
He was arrested on November 18, 2025, in the case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED investigation stems from two FIRs by the Delhi Police Crime Branch alleging that Al Falah University wrongly expected NAAC accreditation and recognition of user-generated content to mislead students and parents.
The ED has claimed that the university was born $415.10 crore between 2018 and 2025 and the money collected from students was diverted for personal use.
Siddiqui was later arrested by the Public Security Directorate again in a new money laundering case linked to the “fraudulent” acquisition of lands worth $45 crore in Delhi.
Al Falah University has come under scrutiny in a “white collar terrorism” investigation in which two doctors linked to it have been arrested, while another doctor, Omar Nabi, linked to the university hospital, has been identified as the suicide bomber in the November 10, 2025, explosion outside the Red Fort that killed 15 people.
