• Journalist Rana Ayyub approaches Delhi HC against attachment of fund by ED

    National
    Journalist Rana Ayyub approaches Delhi HC against attachment of fund by ED
    According to the ED, the FIR was filed as a result of a complaint made by Vikas Sankrityayan of Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, on August 28, 2021.

    Digital Desk: Journalist Rana Ayyub filed a petition on Wednesday, with the Delhi High Court protesting the Enforcement Directorate's attachment of cash.

    According to Ayyub's argument, "Provisional attachment has passed its 180-day expiration date, but Adjudicating Authority PMLA is still conducting proceedings."

    This petition is scheduled to be heard today by the Justice Yashwant Varma bench.

    Due to alleged irregularities in the collecting of donations for COVID relief efforts, the Enforcement Directorate temporarily attached her assets worth Rs. 1.77 crore in February.

    The ED claims that the investigations showed that the monies were raised in the name of charity in a thoroughly planned and organised manner and that they were not entirely used for the purpose for which they were raised.

    According to the ED, the FIR was filed as a result of a complaint made by Vikas Sankrityayan of Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, on August 28, 2021.

    The ED further stated that the aforementioned FIR reveals that Rana Ayyub raised enormous sums totaling in crores via the "Ketto" platform (an online platform for crowdfunding) in three campaigns, namely funds for farmers and slum dwellers from April to May 2020, relief efforts for Assam, Bihar, and Maharashtra during June to September 2020, and assistance for Covid-19-affected people in India during May to June 2021.

    Journalist Rana Ayyub was given permission to travel abroad by the Delhi High Court in April, which ruled that there is no evidence to support the assumption that she won't appear before the investigation agency and that the impugned Lookout Circular should not have been issued (LOC).

    According to the court, the contested LOC should be dismissed since it lacks substance and violates the petitioner's human rights to travel abroad and to practice her freedom of expression. The contested LOC is invalidated and set aside for the reasons previously mentioned.