In more trouble for former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has sanctioned the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to prosecute him in the alleged money laundering case related to the liquor policy scam case. This comes just a month before the Delhi assembly elections. However, the Aam Aadmi Party claimed that there was no such sanction and challenged the ED to produce a copy of the sanction.
On their part, AAP leaders Saurabh Bharadwaj, Priyanka Kakkar, Atishi and Manish Sisodia alleged that ED is “spreading fake news”. They said they would have to get a copy of the consent if such an order was issued. The liquor policy scam is one of the opposition BJP’s biggest accusations against the AAP government.
According to officials, the ED had sought permission to prosecute Kejriwal on December 5 by writing a letter to Delhi Chief Secretary Dharmendra in his capacity as Chief Vigilance Officer in this regard. A case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was earlier filed against Kejriwal, but the trial had not yet begun. After the Supreme Court made the approval of the Lieutenant Governor mandatory for prosecuting persons holding government posts in money laundering cases, the ED wrote a letter to the Chief Secretary seeking permission, sources said.
Citing a November 6 Supreme Court judgment, the ED on December 5 sought sanction for prosecution under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002. In its letter to the Lieutenant Governor, the ED said it was seeking a “ enormous level of corruption”. in formulating and implementing” the excise policy. The Supreme Court on November 6 ruled that public servants cannot be prosecuted for money laundering without prior government approval as required under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Earlier, prosecution sanction was not required for chargesheets (charge-sheets) filed by the ED against public servants. It was a mandate for other investigative agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the state police.
The ED, in its note to the Chief Secretary of Delhi, has sought permission from the competent authority to prosecute former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal under Section 197 (1) of CrPC (Section 218 of BNSS 2023) in a case related with liquor policy scams.
“Sanction may be necessary for prosecution against Kejriwal for offense of money laundering under Section 4 of PMLA, 2002 read with Section 197(1) of Cr. PC (Section 218 of BNSS, 2023) in the case of ECIR No. ECIR/HQ14/2022 dated 22.08.2022. You are therefore requested to grant sanction for prosecution against Sh. Arvind Kejriwal, Ex-CM, Govt, of NCT of Delhi in ECIR No. ECIR/HQ 14/2022 dated 22.08.2022, for the offense of money laundering as defined under section 3 of PMLA, 2002 and the offense is punishable under Section 4 of the PMLA Act, 2002,” the ED said.
Meanwhile, the BJP doubled down on its charges against the AAP, with Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva welcoming the sanction to prosecute Kejriwal.
“We have said that Arvind Kejriwal has been given commission for liquor fraud. As the investigation progresses, he becomes trapped. He has corrupted Delhi and looted tens of millions of rupees. We are happy with the investigation,” Sachdeva said.
Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia alleged that the move was aimed at diverting attention from Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement on BR Ambedkar in Parliament. Chief Minister Atishi said the news was spread to distract people from other issues and called on the ED to make the approval letter public.
“If LG sahab has given approval to prosecute Arvind Kejriwal ji, what is the problem for ED in making public the copy of the approval? This news is only spread to mislead people and distract them from the issues. BJP, stop these conspiracies. Bring out the truth,” the CM said on X.
Former Delhi minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia termed it an attempt to divert attention from the issue of BR Ambedkar’s alleged insult and asked the ED to produce the copy of the consent. “If the Lieutenant Governor has given permission to prosecute Arvind Kejriwal, why is the ED not showing the copy of that permission? It is clear that this news is false and misleading. Stop making false promises to divert attention from the issue of insulting Baba Saheb,” Sisodia said.
Delhi Congress president Devendra Yadav also lashed out at Kejriwal, saying LG’s nod came at a time when Kejriwal fooled voters with many promises to cover up his tarnished image on the eve of Delhi Assembly elections.
The Delhi High Court recently issued a notice regarding a plea filed by AAP leaders Kejriwal and Sisodia, challenging the court’s decision to hear the ED’s charge sheet in the excise policy case. Both leaders are currently out on bail in connection with cases filed by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) over the now scrapped excise policy.
The ED also alleged in the complainant’s complaint that around Rs 45 crore from the proceeds of crime was used in the Goa elections for AAP campaigns, with the cooperation and consent of Kejriwal. The probe agency alleged that AAP was the “main beneficiary” of the proceeds of crime, and that Kejriwal, as national chairman and member of the Political Affairs Committee and National Executive, was ultimately responsible for the use of the funds during the Goa -elections. .
Based on an internal report by the then Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, the LG in July 2022 recommended a CBI probe into alleged procedural lapses and violations of rules and actions in the formulation and implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-2022. Kejriwal was arrested in March this year on charges of money laundering. He was released on bail by the High Court in September.