The Delhi high court on Friday refused to interfere with the 'malicious' arrest of Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case related to the now-scrapped excise policy of the Delhi government, saying it cannot impute political motive to a 'premier' investigating agency in the absence of material on record. It also said Singh's was not a 'prima facie case of no evidence at all'.
The CBI had arrested Sisodia for alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 following several rounds of questioning.
Officials said the agency may ask the chief minister about the policy formulation process especially of the "untraceable" file which was earlier slated to be put before the Council of Ministers.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday did not appear before the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in a case linked to the now scrapped Delhi excise policy and wrote to the central agency demanding the "recall" of its summons to him, calling it "vague, motivated and unsustainable in law".
I was offered Delhi CM's post or face jail term, Sisodia said.
Sisodia was arrested after nearly eight hours of questioning on various aspects of the excise policy for 2021-22, which the probe agency says suffered from irregularities both in its formulation and implementation, allegedly intended to benefit people with links to the AAP.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma allowed Sisodia to withdraw the interim bail applications.
Kerala Excise Minister K Babu resigned on Saturday hours after a Thrissur court ordered the vigilance department to register an FIR against him in the bar bribery scam.
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday said it has attached assets worth more than Rs 52 crore of arrested AAP leader Manish Sisodia, his wife and some other accused in the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case.
Sisodia said the growing enthusiasm among the people of Gujarat in supporting the AAP in Gujarat was the reason behind the CBI action against him.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear on March 24 a plea by K Kavitha, Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader and daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, seeking protection from arrest and challenging the summons by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case arising out of the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.
The BJP welcomed the CBI move, claiming that it had been saying all along that Kejriwal was the 'mastermind of the liquor scam'.
This is the fourth supplementary and overall fifth charge sheet or prosecution complaint filed in the case by the ED before a designated special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Delhi.
Nearly 250 private liquor vends, licensed under now-withdrawn Excise Policy 2021-22, are running currently in the city.
A bench of justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi said it will hear the petitions of the BRS leader and others after three weeks.
The CBI on Sunday deferred the questioning of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with the Delhi Excise policy scam case after he sought time from the probe agency citing the city government's ongoing budget exercise.
Kavitha said 'these tactics of intimidation' against the fight of her father and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and the BRS would not deter them.
'Kejriwal could have easily deputed someone to step in as chief minister, but being the authoritative and self-centered personality that he is, he chose not to do it.' 'If the AAP loses Delhi, where it has a huge majority, the only one to blame would be Kejriwal,' asserts Ramesh Menon.
In a setback to former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, the Supreme Court on Monday denied him bail in the corruption and money laundering cases related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, saying the accusation of "windfall gains" of Rs 338 crore to wholesale liquor dealers was "tentatively supported" by evidence.
Kejriwal said that it has been alleged that a bribe of Rs 100 crore was taken, but he asked where was the money.
Kavitha has spent around 18-19 hours at the ED headquarters in central Delhi during her two appearances on March 11 and March 20.
In a fresh twist to the row over an upscale Goa bar which the Congress has linked with Union minister Smriti Irani's daughter, the district administration has issued a notice to the local village panchayat seeking relevant documents in response to a complaint alleging the outlet was built illegally.
The MLC daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao reached the ED office in central Delhi from the Tughlaq Road official residence of her father around 11.30 am and left shortly after 9.40 pm.
Bharat Rashtra Samiti leader K Kavitha on Thursday skipped the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons here for questioning in the Delhi excise policy money laundering case and made a plea to defer the proceedings but it was rejected by the probe agency which asked her to appear on March 20.
Addressing a press conference a day after the CBI raid against him, Sisodia expressed apprehension that the agency or the Enforcement Directorate (ED) may arrest him in the next 3-4 days, while Chief Minister Kejriwal, who has been aggressively taking on the Bharatiya Janata Party in Modi's home state, announced on Twitter that he will be touring Gujarat with Sisodia from Monday.
Licensed bars in major UP cities could earlier remain open up to 1 am, or 3 am if they were located in five-star hotels. Unlike before, hotels in small cities can also apply for a liquor licence.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was questioned for nearly nine hours by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday in the excise policy case, amid protests by his party as the Aam Aadmi Party chief claimed that the allegations of scam were false and the agency was acting at the Bharatiya Janata Party's behest.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration has approved a proposal to authorise departmental stores to sell beer and other ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages in urban areas, an official said.
As opposition leaders like the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Janata Dal-United supremo and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed solidarity with Kejriwal on Saturday and renewed calls to speed up opposition unity efforts to take on the BJP, officials said the CBI may ask the AAP chief about the policy formulation process, especially of the "untraceable" file which was earlier slated to be put before the Delhi Council of Ministers.
The move will boost the government's revenue at a time when Delhi's economy is struggling in view of the Covid-induced lockdown that has been in place since April 19.
From small restaurants to mighty software companies, it is businesses, not the government, that create jobs. Yet, in a cruel irony, they have to fight extortive and brutal State power every step of the way, says Debashis Basu.
The bench headed by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur said all existing licences of liquor shops on highways will not be renewed after March 31, 2017.
The Delhi high court has said that Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera, Netta D'Souza along with others conspired to 'launch a tirade of false scathing and belligerent personal attacks' on Bharatiya Janata Party leader Smriti Irani and her daughter, who are neither owners of the restaurant in Goa nor have they ever applied for the licence for food and beverages at the eatery, as alleged.
A division bench of Justices S S Shinde and N R Borkar said Wankhede shall appear before the Thane police on February 23 (Wednesday) pursuant to the summons issued to him and extend his full cooperation with the investigation.
The Aam Aadmi Party claimed on Wednesday that the Bharatiya Janata Party has approached four of its legislators in Delhi, asking them to switch sides and join the saffron party or else, face 'false cases, the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) and the ED (Enforcement Directorate)'.
'With more and more young people relocating outside their home states for work, an all-India MLDA of 21 would be a good way to ensure that more Indians can go with the flow,' recommends Kanika Datta.
A look at licensed distilleries shows that many have connections with politicians and influential business families. Among politicians, a minister owns a distillery. Two others are owned by ex-Congressman Venod Sharma and ex-Akali MLA Deep Malhotra.
CM Trivendra Singh Rawat cancels licences of the two government-controlled liquor shops in his constituency. The state government is facing an uphill task in opening new shops in face of widespread agitation by women.
"This year during the three days of Formula one, 1.15 lakh bottles of beer were consumed by the fans at various liquor outlets who had got licences for the event," said Kuldeep Yadav, District Excise Officer.
The clean chit to Aryan Khan and five others by the Narcotics Control Bureau on Friday has once again brought the central agency's former zonal director Sameer Wankhede under the spotlight.
