Excise ‘scam’: Court seeks ED’s response on Kejriwal’s plea for copy of sanction to prosecute him

New Delhi, Nov 23: A Delhi court on Saturday directed the ED to file a response to former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea seeking a copy of the requisite sanction to prosecute him in the alleged excise scam money laundering case.

Special judge Kaveri Baweja passed the directions on Kejriwal’s application, who claimed that he had not been served a copy of the sanction.

In his plea, Kejriwal pointed out that during a recent hearing before the Delhi High Court, the ED stated that the required sanction had been obtained from the authorities concerned when the chargesheet was filed.

The judge issued a notice to the ED and directed it to file its reply by November 26, the next date of the hearing.

The money laundering case stems from a CBI case lodged after Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena recommended a probe into the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the excise policy.

According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy and undue favours were extended to the licence holders.

The Delhi government implemented the policy on November 17, 2021, and scrapped it by the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruption.–(PTI)