Excise policy case: Court directs ED to provide key documents to accused

A Delhi court has directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to provide key documents to the accused in a money laundering case in connection with the excise policy.

The case involves former Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia.

Special Judge Kaveri Baweja passed the order on February 25, following applications by multiple accused individuals who claimed they had not received certain documents related to the chargesheet filed in the case.

The court was scrutinising the documents and has scheduled the matter for further proceedings on March 3.

The money laundering case emerged from an investigation initiated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after Delhi L-G VK Saxena recommended a probe into alleged irregularities in the implementation of the excise policy.

According to the CBI and ED, significant irregularities occurred during the policy’s modification, and undue favours were extended to certain licence holders.

The Delhi government had implemented the controversial excise policy on November 17, 2021, but scrapped it by the end of September 2022 amid mounting allegations of corruption.