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10-04-2024
Bureau Report + Agencies
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday rejected chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea against arrest in Delhi excise policy and said the material collected by Enforcement Directorate reveals that he conspired with others and was involved in his personal capacity as well as convener of Aam Aadmi Party. The court maintained that ED was in possession of enough material which led to arrest of Arvind Kejriwal in money laundering case.
The court also rejected Kejriwal’s objections to ED using approver’s statement against him and said “granting pardon to approver is not under ED’s domain as it is a judicial process. If you cast aspersions on the process of pardon, you’re casting aspersions on the judge.” “Statements of approvers will be judged during trial, Arvind Kejriwal will be free to cross-examine them at that stage, the court said.
Kejriwal’s contention that he could have been questioned through video conferencing was also rejected by the court. “It is not for the accused to decide how the investigation is to be done. It cannot be as per the convenience of the accused. This court won’t set two sets of laws. One for the commons and the other for the public servants,” the court said.
The court refused to entertain Kejriwal’s argument against the timing of his arrest and said it has to examine his arrest and remand as per law irrespective of the timing of the elections. “Challenge to the timing of arrest before general elections in the absence of any mala fide on the part of ED is not sustainable,” the court said.
Kejriwal was arrested by ED on March 21 after the high court denied him protection from action by Enforcement Directorate. He was initially kept in ED custory and on April 1 he was remanded to judicial custody.
The ED has accused Arvind Kejriwal and other AAP ministers of taking bribes to formulate the Delhi excise policy for 2021-22, which was subsequently cancelled.
Key allegation in Delhi excise policy case
The report from the Delhi chief secretary has unveiled findings regarding arbitrary and unilateral decisions made by Delhi’s deputy chief minister and excise minister. These decisions have reportedly resulted in significant financial losses, amounting to over Rs 580 crore.
According to allegations by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the implementation of the new excise policy was orchestrated as part of a larger conspiracy to secure a 12% profit margin for specific private companies operating in the alcohol industry. It’s claimed that a 6% kickback was involved in this scheme, indicating a form of bribery or corrupt payment.
Furthermore, the ED contends that the policy was intentionally designed with loopholes to encourage the formation of cartels, ultimately benefiting leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Allegedly preferential treatment, including discounts, extensions in license fees, waiver of penalties, and relief due to disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, were granted to alcohol business owners and operators in exchange for kickbacks.
