By IANS,
Mumbai : The Bombay High Court Wednesday exempted Rheema Khan, wife of alleged money launderer and tax evader Hasan Ali Khan, from appearing before a special court that initiated criminal proceedings against her.
The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court launched proceedings against Rheema June 17 on a complaint by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for non-appearance before the agency despite summons.
The high court, however, directed the special court to decide within four weeks whether Rheema should appear before the ED.
“(Rheema) Khan had approached the high court seeking exemption from personal appearance,” her lawyer I.P. Bagaria said.
“The PMLA court does not have powers to initiate criminal proceedings and can only impose a fine in such cases,” he told the court of Justice B.R. Gavai.
The ED’s counsel Revati Dhere, however, contested that the proceedings were initiated as Rheema had not responded to 23 summons issued by the ED for recording her statement.