HC paves Iqbal Kaskar’s release from jail, grants him bail in 2017 extortion case

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Friday granted bail to Iqbal Kaskar, brother of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, in a money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The case stemmed from a 2017 extortion complaint, and the High Court’s order effectively clears the path for Kaskar’s release, as it was the last pending matter keeping him behind bars.

A special MCOCA court had acquitted Kaskar on April 26 in the original extortion case, which formed the predicate offence for the ED’s probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The extortion complaint had alleged that in 2017, Kaskar and his associates extorted ₹30 lakh in cash and a flat worth ₹60 lakh in the Neopolis building in Thane from local builder Suresh Jain.

Jain, who ran Darshan Enterprises and Sai Uma Corporation, had signed a development agreement in 2013 with Bharati Bhosale and others to construct a housing project on their Waghbil land in Thane. According to advocate Tabish Mooman, who appeared for Kaskar, Jain allegedly failed to compensate Bhosale as promised—either in cash or through a flat.

Following the dispute, Bhosale’s son and two of Kaskar’s alleged aides—Israr and Mumtaz—approached Jain seeking compensation. Jain later alleged that Kaskar personally called him, demanded money and four flats, and issued threats to his life.

Jain filed an FIR at the Kasarvadavali police station, claiming that Kaskar’s associates made repeated visits and continued to pressurise him. Out of fear, he said, he registered flats in the names of Bhosale and Shaikh, and transferred ₹90 lakh to Shaikh in instalments.

Based on the FIR, the ED initiated a money laundering investigation on September 26, 2017, and filed a chargesheet in 2022. Kaskar was arrested on February 18 that year.

In June 2023, the ED sought transfer of the MCOCA trial to the Mumbai sessions court, where the money laundering case was being heard. The Thane special court allowed the transfer.

Citing the slow pace of trial, Mooman later filed a bail application, noting that no witnesses had been examined in court so far. He argued that since the alleged laundering amount was below ₹1 crore, the offence was bailable under Section 45 of the PMLA. However, the special court rejected the plea on June 26, 2024.

Kaskar then moved the Bombay High Court, maintaining he was falsely implicated and had already spent three years in custody for an offence carrying a minimum sentence of three years. His petition also contended that continued incarceration violated his fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Mooman further argued that the ED had failed to produce any evidence linking Kaskar to the extorted cash or flats, nor was there any proof connecting him to the alleged conspiracy.

Taking note of these arguments, Justice Milind Jadhav observed that the prosecution had failed to establish Kaskar’s guilt in the MCOCA trial, and accordingly, granted him bail. “When the prosecution fails to prove the accused’s guilt in the predicate offence, the accused should be granted bail in the PMLA offence,” the court ruled.