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New Delhi: On Monday, The Delhi High Court asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to respond to a bail plea filed by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma has issued a notice to the investigating agency and scheduled further hearings for January 29. AAP MP was arrested in connection with a money laundering case related to the excise policy scam.
He has been in custody for the past three months, and his legal counsel, senior advocate Mohit Mathur, argued that no role has been attributed to him in the underlying offense. Sanjay Singh, a Rajya Sabha member, was arrested by the ED in October last year.Singh’s arrest was based on a statement made by the ED’s “star witness”.Meanwhile, he has challenged the dismissal of his bail plea by a trial court on December 22 in the money laundering case.
Senior advocate Mohit Mathur, representing Singh, argued that the AAP leader has been in custody for the past three months, and no specific role in the underlying offence has been attributed to him. The ED has alleged that Singh played a significant role in formulating and implementing the now-scrapped excise policy, which resulted in monetary benefits for certain liquor manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers. The trial court had noted that Singh was connected to the “proceeds of crime” amounting to Rs 2 crore and considered the case against him to be genuine.
According to the ED, Singh allegedly played a significant role in the formulation and execution of the now-abandoned excise policy, which allegedly provided monetary benefits to certain liquor manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers in exchange for favours. The case pertains to alleged corruption in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22, which was subsequently annulled. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) initiated an FIR based on the Lieutenant Governor’s recommendation, alleging corruption.
The anti-money laundering agency had arrested Singh on October 4. The ED has alleged that Singh played a key role in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped 2021-2022 excise policy, which benefited certain liquor manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, for monetary considerations.
However, Singh has rejected the claim and denied any wrongdoing.Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was already arrested in February this year by the CBI in the alleged liquor policy scam. Former Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain was the first AAP leader, close to Arvind Kejriwal, who was arrested in a money laundering case last year.
However, he is currently out on bail on medical grounds. Meanwhile, a Delhi Court has granted permission to Singh to sign documents for his Rajya Sabha re-nomination, given that his current term concludes on January 27. Ahead of the end of his current term, the jailed AAP leader has been nominated again by the party for the Upper House. To facilitate the process of obtaining a ‘No Dues Certificate’ from Rajya Sabha, an application was submitted in Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court seeking authorisation to obtain Singh’s signature on an ‘Undertaking.’
