In a major setback to the Aam Aadmi Party ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, the Union Home Ministry has granted permission to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to prosecute former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his former deputy Manish Sisodia under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The prosecution pertains to their alleged involvement in money laundering linked to the controversial liquor scam case. This move is set to intensify the ongoing investigation into the alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy, a case that has already drawn significant public and political attention.
Both leaders are accused of financial misconduct and corruption in the allocation of liquor licenses during their tenure, a charge they have consistently denied. The authorisation allows the ED to proceed with legal action, adding a new dimension to the high-profile case that has already seen several arrests and allegations of financial wrongdoing.
The approval came a month after Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena recommended that ED be granted sanction to prosecute Kejriwal in the excise policy case. A source said ED had moved an application to prosecute Kejriwal and Sisodia. “Officials of the ED were waiting to get approval and it came a few days ago to prosecute both of them,” the source said.
Granted bail by the Supreme Court last year in separate cases filed by ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) relating to the excise policy, Kejriwal, who leads the ruling AAP in the Capital, has a plea pending before the Delhi High Court in which he has sought quashing of a trial court order that took cognizance of the ED chargesheet without prior sanction for his prosecution.
Kejriwal was arrested on March 21, 2024, by ED after he failed to appear before it even after nine summons. He was questioned by ED and arrested after the central agency found that he was not cooperating in the investigation. He was granted bail by the Supreme Court in the ED case on July 12 and in the CBI case on September 13 of that year. He resigned as the Delhi chief minister on September 17.
Sisodia was arrested by CBI on February 26, 2023, and by ED 12 days later. The Supreme Court granted bail to him on August 9, 2024, saying, “There is not even the remotest possibility of the trial being concluded in the near future”.
