New Delhi: Ahead of the upcoming 2025 Delhi assembly elections, Delhi Lt. Governor (LG) VK Saxena has allowed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to prosecute AAP chief and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the manufacturing policy case.
The move comes after months of investigations into the Delhi government’s excise policy, which has been at the center of controversy and allegations of corruption.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on Friday granted more time to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to respond to a petition filed by Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia. The petition challenges the trial court’s decision to take cognizance of the charge sheet in the Delhi Excise Liquor Policy case.
The bench of Judge Manoj Kumar Ohri has fixed the hearing of the case on 5th of February.
Recently, the Delhi High Court issued notice on a petition by Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia challenging the trial court’s decision to take cognizance of the Enforcement Directorate’s chargesheet in the alleged excise policy scam.
Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia are currently out on bail in both the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cases related to the scrapped excise policy.
According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the excise policy was deliberately designed with loopholes to benefit AAP leaders and nurture cartel structures. The ED accused AAP leaders of receiving kickbacks from liquor businesses in return for preferential treatment, including concessions, license fee waivers, and relief during the Covid-19 disruptions.
The ED further alleged that the “scam” involved granting wholesale liquor distribution rights to private entities with a fixed 12% margin in return for a 6% kickback. Additionally, AAP leaders were accused of influencing the outcome of the Punjab and Goa elections in early 2022.