The Madras High Court has rejected a plea by alleged drug kingpin Jaffer Sadiq, challenging the remand order issued against him in connection with a money laundering case. The division bench, comprising Justice SM Subramaniam and Justice V Sivagnanam, ruled that no infirmity or illegality was found in the remand order issued by the principal sessions court, Chennai.

Jaffer Sadiq’s counsel, senior advocate Abudu Kumar Rajarathnam, argued that it was illegal to execute a prisoner-in-transit (PT) warrant, as Jaffer had already been granted bail in the NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act) case before the execution of the PT warrant. The counsel contended that the mere production of Jaffer before the court was illegal, and thus, the subsequent remand order should also be deemed illegal.

The court, however, intervened and noted that the remand order was issued based on the investigation agency’s submissions and could not be overturned solely on the grounds of alleged illegal detention. The bench further observed that while Jaffer’s detention may be questioned, the legality of the session judge’s order could not be challenged.

The court dismissed the plea, stating that no abuse of process or violation of constitutional provisions was evident in the remand order. The bench concluded that there was no merit in the case to justify overturning the remand.

Jaffer Sadiq was arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on July 26, following his earlier arrest by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for smuggling pseudoephedrine to Australia and New Zealand. Despite being granted bail in the NDPS case, he was remanded by the principal sessions court, Chennai, after being produced under a PT warrant.