SC stays attachment of properties of Dawood's kin

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed attachment proceedings of the properties of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's mother and sister in Mumbai.

A bench of justices T S Thakur and F M I Kalifulla also issued notice to the Centre on Dawood's mother Amina Bi (dead, petition filed by her legal representative) and sister Hasina Ibrahim Parker's plea challenging the attachment order of their residential houses.

The two women have a total of seven residential properties in their names. Of this, two are in the mother's name and five are in the sister's name. The properties worth crores of rupees have allegedly been acquired with Dawood's ill-gotten wealth.

They approached the apex court challenging the order of the Delhi high court, which had turned down their plea against the order for seizure of their properties in Mumbai under the Smugglers And Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture Of Property) Act.

The Act provides for forfeiture of "illegally acquired properties" of smugglers and foreign exchange manipulators and their kith and kin.

The petitioners pleaded that they were not duly served the forfeiture notices and so the subsequent proceedings to attach their properties at Nagpada in south Mumbai were illegal and they should be given a fresh chance to challenge the forfeiture notices.

One of the forfeiture notices was issued under the SAFEMA on July 14, 1998.