New Delhi, 21 December 2024: Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has cleared the way for the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to prosecute Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the alleged excise policy corruption case. The approval, sought by the ED on December 5, comes amid preparations for the 2025 Delhi Assembly polls and ongoing legal disputes over the policy.
The ED has accused Kejriwal and other AAP leaders of receiving kickbacks through a deliberately flawed excise policy that allegedly benefited private liquor businesses. Investigators claim the policy provided undue advantages, such as discounts and fee waivers, to liquor firms in exchange for bribes, part of which were reportedly used to fund the AAP’s election campaigns in Punjab and Goa in 2022. The agency further alleges a systematic effort to facilitate cartelization and grant wholesale liquor distribution rights in exchange for a fixed kickback.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court has given the ED more time to respond to a petition filed by Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, challenging a trial court’s decision to acknowledge chargesheets in the case. Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri’s bench scheduled a hearing for February 5 and recently issued notices related to the leaders’ plea. Both Kejriwal and Sisodia, currently out on bail in ED and CBI cases linked to the excise policy, have consistently denied the allegations.
The AAP has termed the allegations a political attack orchestrated to damage its leadership ahead of elections. However, the case, centered on corruption claims during the pandemic and its broader implications, continues to place Kejriwal’s party under scrutiny as the legal battle intensifies.
