NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Tuesday extended the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) deadline to respond to former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea seeking a copy of the requisite sanction for his prosecution in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Court set the new deadline as November 28.
The court granted the ED’s request for additional time to gather instructions and prepare a reply to Kejriwal’s application.
“Special counsel for ED seeks some time for obtaining necessary instructions and to file reply to the application moved on behalf of Kejriwal. At request, adjourned to November 28, for filing reply, if any, and arguments on the above said application,” noted the court.
Kejriwal’s legal team argued that the former Chief Minister had not been provided a copy of the sanction for prosecution, a key procedural requirement. In his application, Kejriwal referenced recent proceedings in the Delhi High Court, where the ED reportedly stated that the necessary sanction was obtained when filing the chargesheet.
The money laundering case stems from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe initiated on the recommendation of Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena.
The Delhi government, in November 2021, rolled out the much-hyped liquor excise policy; a promise to completely revamp the liquor trade in the Capital.
The city was boozing. As per official estimates, liquor shops in the city sold 24.50 million litres in February 22, almost double the average monthly sales of 13.2 million litres in 2019-20.
The policy was withdrawn eight months after it came into effect, amid allegations of corruption and ‘favouritism’ in granting liquor licenses. The CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) registered a case. The ED (Enforcement Directorate) soon followed.
Besides Kejriwal, AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, too, had been to jail in the case related to excise policy.
Kejriwal’s plea
Arvind Kejriwal’s legal team argued that the former Chief Minister had not been provided a copy of the sanction for prosecution, a key procedural requirement.