Custodial interrogation necessary to trace out complete trail, says court while sending Sanjay Singh on remand

New Delhi [India], October 5 : The Rouse Avenue Court on Thursday, while sending Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh on remand, said custodial interrogation appears to be necessary in relation to the receipt of the amount and the other activities related to the same and also to trace out the complete trail thereof.
Special Judge MK Nagpal on Thursday sent Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh to ED remand till October 10 and said the allegations made against the accused pertaining to his attempt to receive the quid pro quo by making his close associate Vivek Kumar Tyagi a dummy partner in the entity named M/S Aralias Hospitality that effected some changes in the excise policy may be the subject matter of the scheduled offences case of CBI but from the allegations being levelled against the accused and the material placed before this court his direct nexus with activities
pertaining to the proceeds of crime of the present case by way of receiving the above amount of Rs 2 crores has been shown and his sustained and custodial interrogation appears to be necessary.
"Therefore, in the totality of facts and circumstances, the accused is being remanded to the custody of ED till October 10, 2023, for the purposes of his detailed and sustained interrogation and confrontations with the above oral and documentary evidence", he said.
However, it is directed that his interrogation shall be conducted at some place having CCTV coverage in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court and the said CCTV footage shall be preserved. It is also subject to the condition that he shall be medically examined once every 48 hours, said the court in order.
It is also directed that the blood pressure of the accused shall be monitored twice a day and his sugar level shall be monitored once a day during his ED custody period for this purpose, he is being permitted to carry the requisite monitoring instruments with him, said the court.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested Sanjay Singh after a day-long questioning by the ED officials at his Delhi residence.
The federal agency on Wednesday morning undertook a raid at the residence of Sanjay Singh in connection with the now-cancelled liquor excise policy in Delhi. The development followed closely on the heels of the ED's raid on the premises belonging to two of Sanjay Singh's close aides in the same context.
The case connects with claims that Singh and his partners played a part in the Delhi government's decision to give licenses to alcohol shops and merchants in 2020, causing losses to the state exchequer and violating anti-corruption laws.
ED has previously searched a number of locations including the homes and offices of Sanjay Singh's close associate Ajit Tyagi and other contractors and businessmen who allegedly benefited from the policy.
In its nearly 270-page supplementary charge sheet, the ED has called former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia a "key conspirator" in the case.
The Delhi liquor scam case or the excise policy case pertains to allegations that the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge that has been strongly refuted by the AAP.
ED has so far filed five charge sheets in the case, including against Sisodia.
ED, last year filed its first chargesheet in the case. The agency said it has so far undertaken over 200 search operations in this case after filing an FIR after taking cognisance of a CBI case which was registered on the recommendation of the Delhi lieutenant governor.
The CBI inquiry was recommended on the findings of the Delhi chief secretary's report filed in July showing prima facie violations of the GNCTD Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR)-1993, Delhi Excise Act-2009, and Delhi Excise Rules-2010, officials had said.
The ED and the CBI had alleged that irregularities were committed while modifying the Excise Policy, undue favours were extended to licence holders, the licence fee was waived or reduced and the L-1 licence was extended without the competent authority's approval. The beneficiaries diverted "illegal" gains to the accused officials and made false entries in their books of account to evade detection.
As per the allegations, the Excise Department had decided to refund the Earnest Money Deposit of about Rs 30 crore to a successful tenderer against the set rules. Even though there was no enabling provision, a waiver on tendered licence fees was allowed from December 28, 2021, to January 27, 2022, due to COVID-19.
This allegedly caused a loss of Rs 144.36 crore to the exchequer, which has been instituted on a reference from the Union Home Ministry following a recommendation from Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena.