New Delhi, May 18 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to Mohammad Kashif, accused in a money laundering case involving allegations that he posed as a close aide of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Union ministers to extort money from people by using morphed photographs and fabricated invitations.

A Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and N. Kotiswar Singh set aside an Allahabad High Court order refusing bail to Kashif in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

In its order, the apex court recorded that Kashif had remained in custody for nearly three years and that the alleged “proceeds of crime” in the case were around Rs 1.10 crore.

It further directed Kashif to cooperate with the trial proceedings and recorded his undertaking that he would not use the names of high constitutional functionaries or government officials in future.

The Justice Sundresh-led Bench clarified that the probe agency would be at liberty to seek cancellation of bail in case of violation of conditions or non-cooperation during trial.

According to the ED, Kashif had allegedly uploaded morphed and edited photographs with Prime Minister Modi and other Union ministers on his Facebook and Instagram accounts to create an impression that he enjoyed close access to influential political leaders and senior government officials.

The federal anti-money laundering agency alleged that he used this projected influence to collect money from people on the pretext of securing government jobs, obtaining contracts from ministries and facilitating official work in government departments.

The case stems from an FIR registered at Surajpur police station in Gautam Buddh Nagar district under various provisions of the IPC, including cheating, forgery and impersonation, along with Section 66D of the Information Technology Act.

As per the prosecution, Kashif was intercepted by Noida Police in April 2023 while travelling in a Mercedes car. During examination of his mobile phones, investigators allegedly found social media accounts containing photographs with the Prime Minister and Union ministers, besides purported invitation cards in his name for the Prime Minister’s oath-taking ceremony and a lunch event.

The ED had claimed that searches conducted at premises linked to Kashif led to the recovery of cash amounting to over Rs 1.10 crore, along with documents, rubber stamp impressions and a note-counting machine.

The agency alleged that the money constituted proceeds of crime generated through cheating and impersonation. The Allahabad High Court had rejected Kashif’s first bail plea on December 17, 2024, observing that he had “misrepresented his status” by posting morphed photographs and allegedly extorted money from people for getting work done through government agencies for “personal financial gains”.

The Allahabad High Court had further held that the material on record, including recovery of cash and witness statements, did not satisfy the twin conditions for bail under Section 45 of the PMLA.

A subsequent Special Leave Petition (SLP) challenging the December 2024 order was dismissed by the Supreme Court on January 10, 2025.

Kashif’s second bail plea was also rejected by the Allahabad High Court on February 5 this year, which had observed that there was no undue delay in the trial and that the predicate offence carried punishment extending up to life imprisonment.

–IANS

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