Delhi Liquor Scam: Sanjay Singh Held, SC Asks ED Why AAP if Beneficiary is Not Made an Accused
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 4: In yet another blow for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday arrested its Rajya Sabha Member Sanjay Singh in a money laundering case linked to the investigation into the alleged Delhi liquor scam, even as in a related case the Supreme Court questioned the ED if the political party was the beneficiary of the scam why it had not been made an accused so far.
Singh was placed under arrest after carrying out searches at his residence since early on Wednesday morning. His wife Anita Singh, however, later claimed that nothing incriminating was found in the searches and the ED only took away Singh’s mobile phone.
“Nothing has been seized; they have just taken his mobile. They found no paper or anything else that they could seize,” she said. The central probe agency, which investigates financial fraud, had earlier questioned the members of staff and those linked to the 51-year-old Rajya Sabha MP.
Singh was the third major arrest of the AAP top leadership. The Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain was arrested in May last year on charges of laundering money through four companies that were allegedly linked to him. The biggest setback for the party had come in February this year, when Manish Sisodiya, the then Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and close aide of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the CBI in the alleged liquor policy scam.
During a hearing on Sisodiya’s bail plea on Wednesday, the apex court asked the ED if the AAP benefited from Delhi’s now-scrapped liquor policy, why was it not an accused in the money laundering case relating to alleged irregularities.
The bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice SV Bhatti was hearing a request for bail by Manish Sisodiya. “As far as PMLA is concerned, your whole case is that the benefits went to a political party. That political party is still not made an accused or Impleaded. How do you answer that? The political party is the beneficiary according to you,” the bench asked.
The Supreme Court also asked if a cabinet note can be examined in a court of law. “I believe there are specific Constitution bench judgments barring us from examining cabinet notes. I do not know if it applies to Delhi, because it is a Union Territory. Though they have not raised it. Like the issue of how we cannot get into what is said in Parliament, now that has been referred to a larger bench,” Justice Khanna said. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, who represented ED, will respond to both queries on Thursday.
Mr Sisodiya, effectively Number 2 in the party after Kejriwal, has denied any wrongdoing and alleged that the central agencies had cooked up a case for BJP’s political goals. The case against Mr Sisodiya is centred on a liquor policy introduced by the Arvind Kejriwal government in November 2021. Under the policy, the government withdrew from retail sale of liquor and allowed private licensees to run stores. A government report later flagged alleged irregularities and “undue benefits” to liquor licencees. The case is being investigated by the CBI and the ED.
Sanjay Singh’s arrest was also in the same case and the raids at his residence took place after the accused-turned-approver in the case Dinesh Arora, a businessman, named him claiming that Singh had introduced him to Mr Sisodiya, who was the excise minister.
Search operations began at the Rajya Sabha MP’s residence early on Wednesday morning and went on for a few hours. AAP workers reached his house and raised slogans against the BJP and the “misuse” of agencies. Additional police personnel were posted to prevent the situation from escalating.
Mr Kejriwal came out in support of his colleague while the raids were being conducted and, without naming the BJP, accused the party of engaging in desperate attempts to derail rivals ahead of next year’s general election.
“For a year, we have been hearing noise about the alleged liquor scam. More than 1,000 raids have been conducted and not a single paisa was recovered. They just keep alleging ‘scam’… I did a lot of investigation and found nothing,” Mr Kejriwal claimed. “Nothing is going to be found from Sanjay Singh’s place too. Elections are coming and they feel (they) are losing… so it appears to be the last desperate attempt of the losing side,” he said.
After news of the arrest came out, Mr Raghav Chadha made similar allegations and did not shy away from hitting out at the BJP directly. “They have been investigating the case for 15 months but have not been able to unearth even a single rupee of illegal money. So much time and so many resources have been expended but they haven’t been able to prove anything. This is just a political vendetta. The BJP knows it is losing,” he said.
The Enforcement Directorate, which has filed multiple charge-sheets in connection with the case, has never named Sanjay Singh as an accused, nor summoned him to record his statement. Sanjay Singh’s father, Dinesh Singh, said the family cooperated with the police and nothing was found in the house. “I told Sanjay not to worry and that the truth will win. We are not worried about his arrest,” he said.
“We are not afraid,” underlined MP Sanjay Singh’s wife. “We were mentally prepared, if they can go to Manish ji’s house (arrested in Delhi liquor policy case), Satyendar Jain’s (he was arrested in a separate money laundering case), we knew that they will come for us as well one day,” she added further. We leave it to the God, if we are truthful, we will find a way, she said.
