Excise Policy case: Court takes cognizance on ED chargesheet against Sameer Mahendru, 4 firms
Dec 20, 2022
New Delhi [India], December 20 : Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court on Tuesday took cognizance of t Prosecution Complaint (chargesheet) filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case revolving around the excise policy case. The chargesheet was recently filed against businessman Sameer Mahendru and four firms.
The Special Judge MK Nagpal on Tuesday took cognizance of the offence of money
laundering. Since sufficient grounds exist for proceeding further in the matter against all the five accused, they are directed to be summoned to appear and face trial before this court for the above said offence, though some further investigation with regard to the other persons/entities involved in the case and to trace out the balance proceeds of crime is still stated to be pending, said the court.
Court noted that, it was alleged in the said case that huge kickbacks through hawala channels were paid by few persons in liquor business from South India to some public servants of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and that of Excise Department of the GNCTD to achieve the objectives of monopoly and cartelization between three components of the said policy, ie liquor manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, by violating provisions and breaking spirit of the said policy and these kickbacks were to be returned back to the above persons from South, either out of profit margins of the wholesalers or through credit notes issued by the wholesalers to the retail vends owned or controlled by such persons from South.
It has been alleged that profit margin of the wholesalers was initially kept high at 12 per cent to ensure payment of around 6 per cent portion thereof to achieve the above illegal objective and even records and books of accounts of the licensees were falsified for the said purpose, noted the court
The present complaint has been filed by ED through Jogender, who is an Assistant Director of ED and the same has been filed by him in his official capacity of a public servant.
As per provisions contained in the amended Section 44 (1) (a) of the PMLA, an offence punishable under Section 4 of the above said Act and any scheduled offence connected to that offence are triable by the Special Court constituted under the Act for the area in which the offence has been committed, noted the Court.
The CBI case pertaining to the commission of scheduled offences of this case is also pending before this court and a chargesheet against some of the accused persons in the said case also stands filed now and cognizance of the offences alleged therein has been taken by the court and the concerned accused persons have been directed to be summoned to face trial for the alleged offences, though even in that case some further investigation is still going on, noted the Court.
On Monday, the Rouse Avenue Court was informed by the ED that the supplementary chargesheet which would be filed on or before January 6, 2022, would be a common chargesheet against all arrested accused in connection with the alleged Delhi Excise Policy scam money Laundering case.
In the case, Court is also examining five bail petitions moved by businessmen Sharath Reddy, Sameer Mahendru, Binoy Babu, Abhishek Boinpally and Vijay Nair.
The six accused Amit Arora last week sent to judicial custody till December 28, 2022.
According to the ED, among the accused public servants are Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, the then Excise Commissioner Arva Gopi Krishna, Deputy Commissioner Anand Tiwari and Assistant Commissioner Pankaj Bhatnagar.
Other accused are Manoj Rai, a former employee of Pernod Ricard; Amandeep Dhal, director of Brindco Sales; director of Buddy Retail Amit Arora, and Dinesh Arora; authorised signatories of Mahadev Liquors Sunny Marwah, Arun Ramchandra Pillai and Arjun Pandey.
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 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.
The FIR in the case was instituted on a reference from the Union Home Ministry following a recommendation from Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena.
