May 14th 2024.
New Delhi: On Tuesday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) stated in front of the Delhi High Court that they are going to add the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as an accused in the money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy 'scam'. This statement was made during the hearing of former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia's bail plea in the same case.
The ED's lawyer argued before Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma that they will be adding AAP as a co-accused in the next prosecution complaint that will be filed in the case. The high court, which was also hearing Sisodia's bail pleas in the corruption case filed by the CBI, has reserved its orders.
It is worth mentioning that AAP national chief Arvind Kejriwal has filed a petition stating that a political party cannot be charged under the anti-money laundering law. This petition is still pending in the high court. Recently, the high court had upheld Kejriwal's arrest in the case and had stated that the provisions of Section 70 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, which deals with companies, are applicable in this case. The ED had compared AAP to a company and Kejriwal to its director.
The ED's lawyer further stated that there have been deliberate attempts by the accused persons to delay the process of framing charges in the case. The CBI, which also supported the ED's submissions, opposed Sisodia's bail plea and stated that the delay is solely caused by the accused persons.
Sisodia's lawyer argued for his bail, stating that the ED and CBI are still arresting people in the money laundering and corruption case and that the trial cannot be concluded anytime soon. Senior advocate Mohit Mathur, representing Sisodia, pointed out that the trial court judge did not provide any evidence on how Sisodia contributed to the delay.
He further stated, "Post my earlier bail dismissal, three accused persons have been granted relief by the Supreme Court. This includes Benoy Babu in the ED case, Sanjay Singh in another ED case, and most recently, Arvind Kejriwal. There is no risk of me evading the trial as I have already been in custody for 14.5 months."
The ED's counsel argued that there have been 250 pleas filed before the trial court even though there have been only 17 arrests in the case. He also mentioned that the investigation officer has to be present in the court almost every day.
He further stated that money laundering is considered as serious an offence as terrorism, and the conspiracy in this case was to ensure that AAP gained illegal profits through bribes, while also benefiting the bribe givers. The accused person was a part of the highest body of the party, held the position of deputy CM and was the minister in charge of the excise department. The ED has digital evidence and statements from the bribe givers, proving the accused's involvement.
The ED's lawyer also pointed out the delay caused by the accused persons, stating that one of the accused persons has only inspected 100 out of 1700 documents in the last two months, while the rest are yet to be inspected. "This shows a concerted effort by the other accused persons to delay the framing of charges," he argued.
Meanwhile, Sisodia's bail plea in the corruption and money laundering cases filed by the CBI and ED respectively, was dismissed by the trial court on April 30, 2023, stating that it was not the right stage to grant him bail. Sisodia had resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28, 2023, after being arrested by the CBI on February 26, 2023. The Delhi government had implemented the excise policy in November 2021, but it was scrapped in September 2022 due to allegations of corruption. The CBI and ED have alleged that the accused persons had diverted illegal gains to themselves and made false entries in their books of account to hide it.
PTI
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