ED gets Modi govt nod to prosecute Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia in liquor scam case

This comes ahead of the Delhi Assembly Elections scheduled to be held on February 5.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has granted the Enforcement Directorate sanction to prosecute former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a money laundering case linked to Delhi excise policy scam, with the AAP accusing the BJP of "misuse" of power amid Delhi Assembly elections.

MHA officials said similar sanctions have also been obtained for other accused public servants, including former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, in the case. The Supreme Court had in November 2024 ordered that a procedure has to be undertaken by the ED for seeking prosecution sanction of public servants like the CBI.

Kejriwal is currently out on bail and is contesting the Delhi Assembly elections from the New Delhi constituency. The ED had earlier filed a chargesheet against Kejriwal, who was arrested last March, before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court.

The ED had sought prosecution sanction on December 3 last year and the Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena gave the green signal and forwarded the file to the MHA. 

Sources said the ED has claimed in documents shared with the LG while seeking prosecution sanction that Kejriwal conspired with members of the 'South Group' to receive Rs 100 crore kickbacks to pass undue benefits to private entities by way of formulating and putting a "tailor-made" liquor policy. Eighteen people were arrested in the case and all are on bail.

Responding to the development, AAP said in a statement that the country is witnessing an "unprecedented case"  where Kejriwal, the then sitting Chief Minister, and chief of a national party with two state governments, was "jailed without a sanction, only to be granted bail by courts".

It said this shows the "extent of power misuse", especially with elections around the corner, it said adding, "their same old routine of filing false cases to defame AAP leaders is clear as day. But the public now sees through this act."

"The Supreme Court had remarked that the ED-CBI were being used ‘like caged parrots'. The PMLA court clearly noted that there was no evidence against Arvind Kejriwal.  It is now coming to light that all of this was being done without a prosecution sanction," it said.

"Two years after the case was filed in November 2022, ED-CBI acting on BJP's orders illegally jailed Arvind Kejriwal, and have only now gotten a sanction to prosecute him. Look at what BJP has been doing. They jailed our leaders, we got bail, and it became clear there’s no evidence against us. And now they’re seeking sanctions which they didn't have. BJP's misuse of agencies is evident to everyone," the statement said.