In another setback for former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, the Allahabad High Court on Friday rejected his writ petition against investigation by the Enforcement Directorate into money laundering charges against him. Rejecting Singh's writ petition, the High Court directed the Enforcement Directorate to investigate allegations that companies backed by Singh got government contracts when he was the chairman of Uttar Pradesh Development Council.

A division bench comprising justices Imtiyaz Murtaza and SS Tiwari asked the ED to commence the investigation "within two weeks" and submit a status report before the court within a month of the commencement of the probe.
Singh had challenged an FIR lodged in Kanpur nearly two years ago accusing him of various financial irregularities when the party was in power in Uttar Pradesh.

Amar Singh had moved the court challenging an FIR lodged at Babupurwa Police Station in Kanpur on October 15, 2009 by a local resident Shiv Kant Tripathi under various sections of the IPC, the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Money Laundering Act and pleaded that the Enforcement Directorate investigate the issue. The court took a serious view of the allegation made by the petitioner that Singh, when the Samajwadi Party was in power in UP and he was the Chairman of the UP Development Council, a post equivalent to that of a cabinet minister, "had indulged in money laundering business by creating a web of shell companies". The court directed that the matter be listed for further hearing in the first week of July when the authorities shall appear in person and submit the first status report.

The money laundering case is the second setback for the Rajya Sabha MP after the Supreme Court lifted its gag order on media on publishing taped conversations of him with politicians, bureaucrats, Bollywood stars and industrialists on May 11.