AAP to be made accused in Delhi liquor policy case, ED tells High Court

NEW DELHI, MAY 14 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed the Delhi High Court on Tuesday that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is set to be named as an accused in the Delhi liquor policy case.

During the hearing of bail petitions of AAP leader Manish Sisodia, the central probe agency told the court that a supplementary chargesheet will be filed very soon in the case.

Opposing the former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s bail plea in the High Court, the Enforcement Directorate submitted that “concerted efforts” are being made by the accused to delay the trial in the excise policy scam case.

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The excise case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22, which was later scrapped.

The agency alleges that Rs 45 crore “kickbacks”, out of the Rs 100 crore “bribe” provided by the ‘South Group’, were used by the AAP for the Goa assembly election campaign in 2022, and it called the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal the “kingpin” of the scam.

The Enforcement Directorate has so far filed seven chargesheets in connection with the case, with the latest being on April 10, which named BRS leader K Kavitha and four others as accused. Eighteen people have been arrested, including Arvind Kejriwal on March 21 and Kavitha on March 15.

Kejriwal was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court on April 10.

Manish Sisodia, who was arrested in March last year, is still under judicial custody. According to the CBI and ED, which are probing the cases against Sisodia, irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy and undue favours extended to the licence holders.

The Delhi government implemented the liquor policy on November 17, 2021, but scrapped it at the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruption.

-PTI