Delhi HC grants 7-day custody parole to Al Falah University chairman to tend to ailing wife

The Delhi High Court granted seven-day custody parole to Al Falah University chairman Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui to care for his wife, who is battling Stage-4 ovarian cancer. Siddiqui faces two money laundering cases investigated by the Enforcement Directorate

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday granted seven-day custody parole to Al Falah University group chairman Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui, who is in custody in two money laundering cases, to take care of his ailing wife.

Justice Mini Pushkarna passed the order after hearing Siddiqui’s plea seeking interim bail or custody parole for a week on medical and humanitarian grounds.

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Siddiqui said his wife is a Stage-4 ovarian cancer patient and has to undergo the next cycle of chemotherapy on November 10.

Custody parole entails a prisoner being escorted by armed police to the place of visit.

The senior counsel appearing for the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said he was “strenuously” opposed to Siddiqui’s interim release as the allegations against him were serious.

The counsel submitted that the accused was a flight risk and had criminal antecedents, including his involvement in the November 2025 Red Fort car blast case.

Any custody parole has to be under stringent conditions, such as that he would remain at his residence except for medical visits, not contact any witnesses, or visit Al Falah University in Haryana’s Faridabad.

In July, the high court had refused to grant interim bail to Siddiqui and permitted him to meet his wife on custody parole on three dates.

Siddiqui has been arrested in two money laundering cases.

One case is linked to the alleged generation of illicit funds from the fees paid by students of the university. He was arrested on November 18, 2025, in the case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED’s probe stems from two FIRs by the Delhi Police Crime Branch alleging that Al Falah University falsely projected NAAC accreditation and UGC recognition to mislead students and parents.

The ED has alleged that the university generated Rs 415.10 crore between 2018 and 2025 and that funds collected from students were diverted for personal use.

Siddiqui was subsequently arrested by the ED again in a fresh money laundering case linked to “fraudulent” acquisition of land worth Rs 45 crore in Delhi.

Al Falah University came under scrutiny in a ‘white-collar terror’ probe in which two doctors linked to it were arrested, while another, Umar-un-Nabi, was identified as the suicide bomber in the November 10, 2025, blast outside the Red Fort that killed 15 people.