The Rouse Avenue Court has mandated a timeline for the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to provide hard copies of up to the eighth supplementary charge sheets to the accused individuals in the Delhi excise policy case. The deadline for this task is set for July 31. Among those produced virtually from Tihar Jail were Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and K Kavitha. The court has instructed jail authorities to ensure the accused are presented via video conferencing on July 31.
During this hearing, AAP MP Sanjay Singh was exempted due to his attendance at the Parliament Session. Additionally, the court extended Arvind Kejriwal's judicial custody in the CBI case until August 8. This hearing also took place virtually from Tihar Jail, with Special Judge Kaveri Baweja directing the ED to supply hard copies of the supplementary charge sheets to the accused and scheduling the next matter for July 31.
Special Public Prosecutor N K Matta, representing the ED, requested additional time to provide hard copies, while confirming that soft copies would be provided the same day. On July 12, the Supreme Court had granted Arvind Kejriwal interim bail, following an earlier regular bail granted by the trial court on June 20. Despite these bails, Kejriwal remains in judicial custody related to a CBI case linked to the Delhi excise policy.
During the previous court session, another accused, Ashish Mathur, was granted bail on a bond of Rs 1 lakh. Mathur had been charge-sheeted without arrest by the ED. On July 9, the court acknowledged the supplementary charge sheet filed against Kejriwal and AAP, as well as against Vinod Chauhan and Ashish Mathur. Summons were issued for their production, with Mathur receiving his through the Investigation Officer.
The ED filed a supplementary prosecution complaint against Kejriwal and AAP on May 17, following Kejriwal’s arrest on March 21. Another supplementary prosecution complaint was filed against Chauhan and Mathur on July 1. In this money laundering case, several individuals, including Manish Sisodia, BRS leader K Kavitha, and Sanjay Singh, have been arrested.
Opposing Kejriwal's bail plea, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju presented evidence suggesting Kejriwal demanded a Rs 100 crore bribe for the AAP’s Goa election campaign. Allegedly, Rs 45 crore was sent by Vinod Chauhan to Chanpreet Singh through hawala dealers, with Singh managing the AAP Goa campaign.
The ED showcased evidence of hawala transfers corroborated by CDR locations, call records, IT-seized data, and WhatsApp messages indicating these arrangements. Witness statements also highlighted cash transactions in the AAP Goa campaign.
The ASG referenced a statement from Sagar Patel indicating that three people, including Chanpreet Singh, received cash payments. He added that instructions were given by Vinod Chauhan for these payments, with photographic evidence of the matching notes used in the hawala transaction found on Chauhan’s phone. Moreover, Kejriwal’s chats with Chauhan demonstrated their close relationship.
ASG Raju invoked Section 70 of PMLA, asserting that Kejriwal, as the national convenor of AAP, held direct responsibility. This section pertains to individuals in charge of a company, in this context referring to AAP, thus placing accountability on Kejriwal for the party’s affairs.
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