The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken a significant step in the Delhi excise policy case by filing a fresh charge sheet, naming Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as accused.
This marks the first instance of a sitting chief minister and a political party facing money laundering charges. The charge sheet, comprising 200 pages along with annexure, has been filed before Special Judge Kaveri Baweja.
The accused are being charged under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Arvind Kejriwal, the national convenor of AAP, was arrested by the federal agency on March 21 from his official residence but is currently out on interim bail. This is the eighth charge sheet filed by the ED in the case, with 18 people arrested so far.
Last week, a similar complaint was filed against BRS leader and former Telangana chief minister Chandrashekar Rao's daughter K Kavitha and four others.
The CM has been described as the "kingpin and key conspirator" of the Delhi excise "scam" by the ED, alleging collusion with Delhi government ministers, AAP leaders, and others.
Additional Solicitor General S V Raju informed the Supreme Court that Kejriwal played a pivotal role in formulating the now-scrapped excise policy, with evidence suggesting his stay in a seven-star hotel, partly funded by an accused.
The ED contends that AAP, being a political party, can be categorised as a "company" under the PMLA, with Kejriwal held "in-charge of and responsible" for the party during the time of the offence.
The excise case revolves around alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22, subsequently scrapped.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena recommended a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities, leading to the ED registering a case under the PMLA. The ED's money laundering case, initiated on August 22, 2022, followed the cognisance of a CBI FIR lodged on August 17, 2022, to investigate the purported irregularities.
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