The Delhi High Court, on Wednesday, issued a directive to prominent AAP leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, and BRS leader K Kavitha, to respond to the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) challenge against a trial court’s decision. The trial court had ordered the ED to provide “unrelied documents” to the defendants implicated in a money laundering case connected to the excise policy controversy.
Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri presided over the hearing and sent out notices to all 40 individuals accused in the case. The court also addressed the ED’s request for a stay on the trial court’s order. The matter has been scheduled for further hearing on January 30, 2024.
The case features a list of accused that includes former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, AAP leaders Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, and various businessmen. These allegations stem from supposed irregularities and undue advantages in the amendment of the excise policy during its implementation.
The origins of the money laundering case are tied to a CBI investigation, initiated at the recommendation of Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, who called for an examination into the alleged improprieties under the modified excise policy. This policy, which was implemented on November 17, 2021, was terminated by September 2022 amidst corruption accusations.
In November, the trial court mandated that the ED furnish the accused with the chargesheet and the digital records of the unrelied documents—those not utilized by the prosecution to support their case. The ED’s counsel, however, contended that according to Supreme Court directives, only a list of these documents should be provided at this stage of document scrutiny, not the documents themselves.
