Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal Photo: PTI Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal Photo: PTI In a major setback ahead of the Delhi Assembly Elections 2025, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday received Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena's sanction for the prosecution of former chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi liquor policy case, reports said.
The central agency, as per reports, sought sanction for Kejriwal's prosecution under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, on December 5 citing a "huge level of corruption in framing and implementation" of the excise policy.
On November 6, the Supreme Court directed that under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), prior approval from the government would be required for the prosecution of public servants in money laundering cases. Following the court ruling, ED wrote to the Chief Secretary seeking permission for prosecution.
Earlier, the sanction was not needed for chargesheets (prosecution complaints) filed by the ED against public servants. It was mandated for other investigative agencies, like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and state police.
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Meanwhile, South Korea were knocked out by the defending champions, India, with a 1-4 defeat in the semi-final. In their pool stage encounter, South Korea had previously played to a 2-2 draw against their next opponent, Pakistan.
On the other hand, China have qualified for their maiden Asian Champions Trophy final. Their journey to the summit clash has been a rollercoaster ride. They started with a defeat to India but bounced back with a 4-2 win over Malaysia. The hosts then faced a 2-3 loss to South Korea and were also routed 5-1 by Pakistan in the pool stage.
How did AAP react?Reacting to the development ahead of elections, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi said that it was attempt to distract people from other issues and called on the ED to make the approval letter public.
wd138 slot"If LG sahab has given permission to prosecute Arvind Kejriwal ji, then what is the problem for ED in making the copy of the approval public? This news is being spread only to mislead people and distract them from the issues. BJP, stop these conspiracies. Bring out the truth," said the Chief Minister on X.
Echoing similar sentiment, former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia too said it was an attempt to divert attention from the row over Home Minister Amit Shah's comments on BR Ambedkar.
"If the Lt Governor has given permission to prosecute Arvind Kejriwal, then why is the ED not showing the copy of that permission? It is clear that this news is false and misleading. Stop making false promises to divert attention from the issue of insult to Baba Saheb," Sisodia said, as per a report by NDTV.
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Kejriwal arrested in Delhi excise police caseArvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with its money laundering probe linked to the alleged excise or liquor policy scam on March 21 this year. On June 26, he was arrested by the CBI as well in the case.
Arvind Kejriwal was subsequently sent to judicial custody and was lodged in Delhi's Tihar jail for the same.
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On July 12, the top court granted interim bail to Kejriwal in the money laundering case while referring to a larger bench three questions on the aspect of "need and necessity of arrest" under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
On July 12,SC granted interim bail to Kejriwal in petition filed by him challenging his arrest by the ED while on September 13,the top court granted bail to Arvind Kejriwal in petition filed by him for bail and challenging his arrest by the CBI.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday posted on January 17nextbet, 2025, the enforcement directorate's plea against the bail granted to former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the 2021-22 excise policy-linked money laundering case.