In a relief to former Aam Aadmi Party communication in-charge Vijay Nair, the Supreme Court on Monday granted him bail after nearly 23 months of incarceration in a money laundering case stemming from the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, observing that liberty is 'sacrosanct' and needs to be respected in cases involving even stringent laws.
Arvind Kejriwal is set to personally argue his defence in the Delhi High Court regarding the excise policy case, while also seeking the recusal of a judge, marking a critical turn in the ongoing legal battle.
Kejriwal, who is in jail till July 12 in the Central Bureau of Investigation case related to the excise policy, appeared before the court of special judge Kaveri Baweja through video conference.
Kumar deposed before the federal probe agency in New Delhi and the investigators are recording his statement under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said.
Overall this is the eighth charge sheet filed by the ED in this case in which it has arrested 18 people so far. Last week, a similar complaint was filed by the agency against BRS leader and former Telangana chief minister Chandrashekar Rao's daughter K Kavitha and four others.
Raghav Magunta was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Friday evening, they said.
The premises covered under the search operation belong to private entities linked to liquor dealership and distributorship, they said.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti, which reserved its verdict on two separate regular bail pleas of Sisodia in the corruption and money laundering cases, told the ED it cannot go by the assumption of bribe having been paid, and whatever protection an accused enjoys under law needs to be granted.
Kejriwal was produced in the court by the CBI after the end of his three-day custodial interrogation.
Sisodia went to his party office in the morning from where he proceeded to Rajghat. A large number of his supporters gathered outside his residence ahead of his questioning.
On Monday, Kejriwal, 55, skipped the seventh summons issued to him in the case, saying he would appear before the agency if a court ordered him to do so.
Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the two probe agencies, told a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti he has instructions to state that the agencies are considering making AAP an accused, invoking legal provisions on "vicarious liability" under the anti-corruption law and section 70 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Abhishek Boinpally who was allegedly lobbying for certain liquor businessmen based in southern India was called for questioning on Sunday.
Kejriwal (55) has been issued the summons under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and according to the sources, the agency will record his statement once he deposes before the investigating officer of the case in Delhi.
The action was undertaken after some fresh inputs were obtained during the questioning of few accused involved in the case. The sources said some of the people who are being searched are linked to Singh.
The CBI has alleged that Gorantla's role in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 caused 'wrongful gain' to Hyderabad-based wholesale and retail licensees and their beneficial owners.
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday arrested Bharat Rashtra Samiti leader K Kavitha after an hours-long raid at her premises in Hyderabad and brought her to Delhi for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy, agency sources said.
Former Central Bureau of Investigation joint director Amit Kumar, who is now posted as Chhattisgarh police ADG, led the probe into the coal scam that resulted in convictions in a number of cases.
A day ahead of the questioning, posters in support of Kavitha were put up near her house by her supporters and also party workers carrying her photo along with slogans. One of the posters read 'Daughter of Fighter Will Never Fear. # We Are With Kavithakka'.
The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday morning raided the premises of Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh in connection with the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case, officials said.
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday launched fresh raids in connection with its money laundering investigation into alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy, official sources said.
The agency is also examining the documents seized during raids at 31 places including the residence of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Friday, they said.
The two federal agencies came in for some sharp criticism over the "fairness" of their investigation, with the apex court observing "Sorry to see this state of affairs".
The Enforcement Directorate questioned Delhi minister Kailash Gahlot for about five hours on Saturday and recorded his statement in connection with a money-laundering investigation linked to the Aam Aadmi Party government's now-scrapped excise policy, officials said.
The court noted that after an exhaustive review of voluminous documents and statements of nearly 300 witnesses over more than two months, there was no legally admissible material connecting the accused to any criminal misconduct.
The CBI has alleged that Singh had transferred funds through hawala channels to Chariot Media that was handling the AAP's publicity campaign during the Goa elections, the officials said.
Arora was arrested under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act after a long session of questioning.
Kejriwal has filed two separate petitions challenging the denial of bail and against his arrest by the CBI in the corruption case filed by the central agency.
The ED will probe if there were alleged irregularities in the formulation and execution of the Delhi Excise Policy unveiled in November last year.
The agency will also record Kavitha's statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The Delhi High Court has initiated criminal contempt proceedings against several AAP leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, for their social media posts against a judge in relation to the excise policy case.
Benoy Babu of Pernod Ricard and Sharath Reddy of Aurobindo Pharma have been arrested under sections of the PMLA.
Sisodia was unhappy with the recommendations, so he asked the then excise commissioner Rahul Singh to seek public opinion by placing the Dhawan Committee report on web site, the agency alleged in the chargesheet.
Arvind Kejriwal was discharged in the liquor policy case and claims it was a political conspiracy to destroy AAP.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti asked additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the two probe agencies, when will the arguments on charges against Sisodia commence in the trial court.
The now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 was brought in by the Aam Aadmi Party leadership, specifically former excise minister Manish Sisodia, to 'continuously generate and channel illegal funds' to themselves, the Enforcement Directorate said in its latest chargesheet in this money laundering case.
The agency made the disclosure in a chargesheet filed by it on May 10 against former Telangana chief minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Chandrashekar Rao's MLC daughter K Kavitha and four others.
He was first called by the federal agency to appear on November 2, but he did not depose alleging that the notice was "vague, motivated and unsustainable in law".
A Delhi court discharged Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia in an excise policy-related corruption case, citing lacunae in the CBI chargesheet.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of using agencies like the CBI and Enforcement Directorate to threaten liquor licensees and excise officials but the BJP alleged that the AAP government's 'rushed' move was an 'admission of violations and corruption' and it was 'scared' of the CBI probe.
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