The Aryavarth Express
Agency (New Delhi): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed the Supreme Court on Thursday that it will soon file a prosecution complaint against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam.
Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the ED, told a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta that the agency has sufficient evidence to proceed with the charges against Kejriwal and AAP. He claimed that Kejriwal demanded a Rs 100 crore bribe, which was used by AAP for its Goa assembly election campaign. Raju also stated that Kejriwal stayed in a seven-star hotel, with bills partially paid by an accused in the case, and played a key role in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that the petition challenging Kejriwal’s arrest should not be maintained, noting that Kejriwal had “consented” to judicial custody after initially opposing the remand orders. Mehta emphasized that the court should not conduct a mini-trial at the remand stage and that judicial scrutiny should be limited.
The bench, however, disagreed with Mehta, stating that courts can interfere if there is a violation of Section 19 conditions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The bench highlighted that while judicial restraint is usually exercised, grave cases warrant intervention.
During the hearing, the bench questioned the ED on the procedure adopted to arrest Kejriwal and emphasized the need for investigating officers to consider both incriminating and exculpatory evidence. Justice Datta pointed out that the Investigating Officer (IO) must be fair and balance findings with all available material.
Raju contended that the satisfaction of the IO under Section 19 is subjective and does not require all materials to be reflected in the reasons for arrest. The bench, however, underscored the importance of exculpatory material and stated that post-arrest material cannot be relied upon to justify an arrest.
The ED’s assertion that AAP, being a political party, can be subject to anti-money laundering laws under Section 70 was also discussed.
The hearing remained inconclusive and will continue on Friday. Kejriwal, arrested on March 21, was granted interim bail from May 10 to June 1 and ordered to surrender on June 2. The court has barred him from visiting his office or the Delhi secretariat, and signing official files unless absolutely necessary for obtaining the lieutenant governor’s approval.
The case involves allegations of corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22, which has since been scrapped.