New Delhi, 15 January 2025- According to people familiar with the situation, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been authorized by the Union Home Ministry to bring charges against former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for alleged irregularities in the now-canceled Delhi excise policy 2021–2022.
The action follows the Supreme Court’s November 6 ruling that the ED must obtain prior approval, similar to that of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in order to proceed with cases involving money laundering under section 197 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code (now section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita). Without the approval, charges against Kejriwal in the excise policy case were still being framed in a Delhi court.
Before filing charge sheets in its Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cases, ED will seek sanctions against all public employees, according to a Tuesday HT report.
In Frame:- Arvind Kejriwal
Last month, Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena approved the agency’s prosecution of Kejriwal. In August 2024, the CBI received approval for the same action against Kejriwal in its parallel excise policy corruption case.
Kejriwal, who is currently free on bail, was arrested by the ED on March 21 under the PMLA and charged on May 17 with using Rs 45 crore of the alleged Rs 100 crore bribe that was obtained in return of favoring certain liquor traders for the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Goa election campaign.
As the national convenor and a member of the AAP’s national executive, the ED claimed that Kejriwal was ultimately in charge of how the money was spent and raised. It referred to Kejriwal as the AAP’s brains and person in charge of its operations.
Citing witness statements, the ED claimed that Kejriwal was also a founding member and participated in the policy’s decision-making process. Kejriwal was accused of requesting bribery. It stated that ₹1,100 crore in criminal proceeds had been found.
The ED referred to Kejriwal as the “kingpin” of the irregularities pertaining to the excise policy. It claimed that in order to finance the election, Kejriwal, his then-deputy Manish Sisodia, and former AAP media chief Vijay Nair requested “additional” funds “over and above” Rs 100 crore in bribes.
The agency alleged that Vinod Chauhan, a “close associate” of Kejriwal, handled the transfer of Rs 25.5 crore bribe money for AAP from Delhi to Goa. Kejriwal has denied all the charges against him.
