The Delhi High Court on Friday sought the Enforcement Directorate (ED) stance on a plea by AAP leader Sanjay Singh challenging his arrest in a money laundering case related to alleged irregularities in the discontinued Delhi excise policy for 2021-22.
A bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma directed the ED to submit its response to the petition and scheduled the hearing for Tuesday morning.
The counsel representing the Rajya Sabha MP argued that the investigating agency arrested him without prior summons or notice, failing to follow due procedure. He stated, “I am on procedure.”
The ED’s lawyer requested time to respond to the petition. “Today, judicial custody is granted… I am entitled to put in a reply. Give me two days,” he said. A trial court has remanded Singh, who was arrested on October 4, in judicial custody until October 27.
The petition filed by Singh was expedited for a hearing following his lawyer’s request before the high court bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma earlier today.
The ED’s money laundering case is based on the CBI FIR. According to both the CBI and the ED, irregularities occurred during the modification of the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, and undue favors were granted to license holders.
The Delhi government had introduced the excise policy on November 17, 2021, but it was discontinued at the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruption.
