Ahead of the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections, Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has reportedly approved the Enforcement Directorate's request to prosecute AAP Chief and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy case, according to news agency ANI.
AAP, however, has called the reports as "false and misleading" and asked the ED to show the copy of the sanction given by the Lt Governor.
On December 5, the Enforcement Directorate had sought permission for sanction of prosecution against Arvind Kejriwal.
This move comes after months of investigations into the Delhi government's excise policy, which has been at the center of controversy and allegations of corruption. Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on Friday granted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) additional time to file its reply to the petition filed by Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia.
The petition challenges the trial court's decision to take cognizance of the chargesheets in the Delhi Excise Liquor Policy case. The matter has been scheduled for hearing on February 5, by the bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri. Recently Delhi High Court had issued a notice on Aam Aadmi Party' leader Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia's plea challenging the trial court's decision to take cognizance of the Enforcement Directorate's chargesheet against them in the alleged excise policy scam.
Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia are currently out on bail in both the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cases related to the now-scrapped excise policy. According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Excise Policy was deliberately designed with loopholes to benefit AAP leaders and foster cartel formations. The ED accused AAP leaders of receiving kickbacks from liquor businesses in exchange for preferential treatment, including discounts, license fee waivers, and relief during the Covid-19 disruptions.
The ED further alleged that the "scam" involved awarding wholesale liquor distribution rights to private entities with a fixed 12% margin, in return for a 6% kickback. Additionally, AAP leaders were accused of influencing the outcome of elections in Punjab and Goa in early 2022.
AAP alleges diversion from Ambedkar issue, questions ED over prosecution claims
Calling it a diversion from the alleged insult to BR Ambedkar, former Delhi minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia challenged the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to provide a copy of the prosecution permission.
“If the Lieutenant Governor has granted permission to prosecute Arvind Kejriwal, why isn’t the ED showing a copy of it? This is clearly false and misleading news. Stop spreading such claims to distract from the insult to Baba Saheb,” said Sisodia.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh dismissed the reports as “fake news.” He stated, “This fake news has been circulating since the morning. I don’t know the source of this information. If Delhi LG has given any sanction, he should make it public. Where is the letter of the sanction? Delhi LG has given no such letter.”
AAP’s chief spokesperson, Priyanka Kakkar, also demanded proof of sanction from the Lt Governor. “LG Saxena has not authorised the ED to prosecute Kejriwal. This is false news. If such a sanction exists, the ED must produce it,” she said.
(With inputs from ANI)
