ED to Prosecute Kejriwal and Sisodia With MHA’s Green Signal

Amidst the high-voltage Delhi assembly election, there is bad news for former CM Arvind Kejriwal. As per reports, the Union home ministry has given the green signal to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to prosecute him over the alleged irregularities in Delhi excise policy 2021-22, which is now scrapped. Manish Sisodia will also be prosecuted along with him. 

The move comes after the November 6th ruling of the Supreme Court stating that the ED has to take prior sanction like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for prosecution under section 197 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code (now section 218 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita) in money laundering cases. The case against Kejriwal in the excise policy was pending in a Delhi court in the absence of the sanction. 

Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena also gave the nod to the agency to prosecute Kejriwal only in the last month. The CBI got the sanction for the same in August 2024 against Kejriwal in its parallel corruption case related to the excise policy.

The ED arrested Kejriwal, on March 21 2024 under PMLA and named him in a charge sheet on May 17 claiming that the amount of  ₹45 crore out of the alleged ₹100 crore bribe taken for favouring selective liquor traders was used for the Goa poll campaign of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). It also called Kejriwal the brain behind the AAP and controlling its activities.

The ED claimed that  Kejriwal was one of the founding members and was involved in the decision-making of the liquor policy, including statements of the witnesses as evidence. It also accused Kejriwal of demanding kickbacks. ED also claimed that a crime worth ₹1,100 crore has been identified.

The ED called Kejriwal the “kingpin” of the excise policy-related irregularities. It accused Kejriwal and his Manish Sisodia, former AAP media in charge, Vijay Nair, of asking for “additional” money “over and above” ₹100 crore kickbacks for their Goa election funding.

The agency alleged that Vinod Chauhan, who is close to Kejriwal, handled the transfer of ₹25.5 crore bribe money for AAP from Delhi to Goa. Kejriwal denied all the charges against him.