NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Friday granted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) additional time to file its reply to a petition filed by former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
The petition challenges the trial court’s decision to take cognizance of chargesheets in the controversial Delhi excise liquor policy case.
The bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri has scheduled the matter for a detailed hearing on February 5. Earlier, the High Court had issued a notice on the plea by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders contesting the trial court’s cognizance of the ED’s chargesheet.
In their petition, the leaders argued that the trial court erred in proceeding under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) without prior sanction under Section 197(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
The petition emphasized that this sanction was mandatory since Kejriwal, a serving public servant at the time of the alleged offence, held the position of Chief Minister. Kejriwal and Sisodia are currently out on bail in both ED and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cases tied to the now-scrapped excise policy.
The policy, initially aimed at streamlining liquor distribution, has come under intense scrutiny. The ED has alleged that the excise policy was designed with deliberate loopholes to benefit AAP leaders and encourage cartel formations. The agency further accused the leaders of receiving kickbacks from liquor businesses in return for preferential treatment, including significant discounts, license fee waivers, and relaxations during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A central allegation in the case is that wholesale liquor distribution rights were granted to private entities with a fixed 12% margin, of which 6% was purportedly channeled back as kickbacks. The ED claims the proceeds from these transactions were used to influence assembly elections in Punjab and Goa in early 2022.
Central allegation in the case
A central allegation in the excise policy case is that wholesale liquor distribution rights were granted to private entities with a fixed 12% margin, of which 6% was purportedly channeled back as kickbacks. The ED claims the proceeds from these transactions were used to influence assembly elections in Punjab and Goa in early 2022