Al Falah University founder Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui at the headquarters of the Directorate of Enforcement. File | Photo credit: PTI
The Enforcement Directorate is expected to challenge the interim bail granted by a local court to Al Falah University group chairman Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui, saying it may affect the investigation as “multiple aspects” of the case are still under investigation, officials said.
A Delhi court on Saturday (March 7, 2026) granted Siddiqui, 61, a two-week anticipatory bail in a money laundering case related to his alleged creation of illicit funds from fees paid by students of his Faridabad-based educational institution by allegedly misrepresenting the accreditation and recognition of his colleges.
He was arrested by the ED in November 2025 and is lodged in the jail in judicial custody.
The money laundering case against Siddiqui and the university stems from two Delhi Police FIRs related to an alleged student scam.
Siddiqui applied for interim bail to support and take care of his wife, who is suffering from stage 4 cancer and is scheduled to undergo chemotherapy on March 12.
ED officials told PTI that the agency will soon challenge the local court’s order in the Delhi High Court, saying that its submissions made in the local court to prevent the grant of interim bail to Siddiqui “were not seriously considered” and that another FIR under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) has been lodged against him in connection with the blast in the Red Fort area last November.
The HC is also expected to take notice of allegations leveled against him in the ED chargesheet that three doctors, two NIA arrestees and a third alleged suicide bomber in the Red Fort area blast, besides other specialists, were appointed to Al Falah Medical College without any police verification or inspection. She said these recruitments took place at a university “controlled” by Siddiqui.
The agency is expected to repeat before the HC its arguments made before the local court in seeking to stay his interim bail that he had “substantial financial capacity and will influence the investigation”. The ED told a Delhi court that it should not be granted relief as there are “multiple aspects” of the investigation that are “still pending” and he can “manipulate” witnesses and influence stakeholders connected to the case.
Officials said they would inform the high court that Siddiqui’s wife has been undergoing treatment for cancer for the past few years and had no accompanying caregiver when she appeared before the agency to record her statement, underscoring their argument that she was “stable” and did not need her husband’s support.
In its order, the Delhi court noted that his three UAE-based children could not take care of their mother due to the ongoing trials and war in the Middle East.
ED officials say they have studied the travel history of the three children, which shows that they rarely came to India and whenever they did, they stayed for “very short” periods.
Two of the children were also summoned by the agency for questioning but did not appear, officials said.
Siddiqui’s lawyers have argued that he has always cooperated with the agency during this investigation and that he was also charged in January and therefore should be granted relief.
Additional Sessions Judge Sheetal Chaudhary Pradhan, in her order granting relief to Siddiqui, said that “interim health bail is a legal concept which allows a prisoner to be released from jail on the health grounds of his family members, particularly in the case of his wife”. She imposed certain conditions on Siddiqui, such as surrendering his passport to the investigating officer of the case and “not threatening” the complainants and witnesses in the case.
The ED alleged that Al Falah University generated Rs 415.10 million between 2018 and 2025 and that funds collected from students were diverted for personal use. The university came under scrutiny following a “white-collar terror” investigation in which two doctors associated with it were arrested, while another doctor, Umar-un-Nabi, associated with its hospital, was identified as a suicide bomber in a bomb blast in the Red Fort area that killed 15 people.
Published – March 8, 2026 1:14 PM IST
