Supreme Court notice to ED on Sanjay Singh's petition in liquor irregularities case
Nov 20, 2023
New Delhi [India], November 20 : The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate on AAP leader Sanjay Singh's plea against the Delhi High Court order rejecting his plea challenging his remand and arrest in the alleged liquor irregularities case.
A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti sought a response from ED on Sanjay Singh's petition and kept the matter for the second week of December.
The court also kept it open for the petitioner to file for regular bail, if so advised and made it clear that it shall be considered on its own merits in accordance with law without being influenced by the impugned judgment.
Delhi Delhi High Court had last month rejected Aam Aadmi Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh's plea in which he had challenged his remand and arrest in the alleged liquor irregularities case.
The ED had arrested Sanjay Singh after a day-long questioning by the ED officials at his Delhi residence. ED claimed that Singh and his associates 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 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 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 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, 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.
