look news india
New Delhi: Not only Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal but also the Aam Aadmi Party may have to face difficulties in the alleged scam of canceled excise policy in Delhi. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday filed a fresh charge sheet in the case, also framing charges against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his party Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). With this, for the first time in the country, charges of money laundering have been framed against a sitting Chief Minister and any political party.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) told the Supreme Court that it has discovered chats between Arvind Kejriwal and hawala operators in connection with the alleged proceeds of crime in the excise policy case. The agency claims that chats have been seized from the devices of hawala operators after Kejriwal refused to share the passwords of his gadgets. ED officials said that a 200-page charge sheet has been filed before Special Judge Kaveri Baweja. Charges have been framed against the accused under the provisions of PMLA.
In this case, ED had arrested 55-year-old Kejriwal on March 21. However, since Lok Sabha elections are going on in the country, the Supreme Court has released Kejriwal on interim bail till June 1. Kejriwal has got interim bail for election campaign.
This is the eighth chargesheet filed by the ED in the alleged liquor scam in Delhi. ED has so far arrested 18 people in this case. Last week, the agency had arrested K, daughter of BRS leader and former Telangana Chief Minister Chandrashekhar Rao. A similar complaint was filed against Kavita and four others. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was earlier termed the mastermind and main conspirator of the Delhi Excise Policy scam. The ED had alleged that he worked in collusion with Delhi government ministers, AAP leaders and others.
The investigating agency alleged that 'South Group' provided the money. Rs 100 crore of bribe. Rs 45 crore was used by AAP for the Goa Assembly election campaign in 2002. Additional Solicitor General Raju told the Supreme Court that the bribe was sent through Hawala. ED has so far filed 7 chargesheets in this case. Some time ago, Delhi High Court had also made an important comment saying that political parties also come under the purview of Section 70 of the Money Laundering Act. Section 70 of PMLA is also applicable in the case of alleged liquor scam.
Additional Solicitor General SV Raju told the Supreme Court on Thursday, “We have enough evidence that Kejriwal stayed in a seven-star hotel.” His bill was partially paid by one of the accused in the case. Due to strong opposition from BJP regarding this excise policy of Delhi, the state government canceled this policy. However, the ED alleged that Kejriwal, as the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party, was indirectly responsible for the alleged policy-making scam. The Excise Policy case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and implementation of the Excise Policy of Delhi Government for 2021-22.
Delhi's Lieutenant General VK Saxena recommended a CBI inquiry into alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the liquor policy. After this ED registered a case under PMLA. ED also took into consideration the CBI FIR registered on August 17.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Friday reserved its verdict on Arvind Kejriwal's plea challenging the legality of the arrest by the ED. However, the Supreme Court allowed Kejriwal to approach the trial court for regular bail. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Dutta reserved the verdict after hearing the arguments of Kejriwal's lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi and government counsel Additional Solicitor General SV Raju.
