The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to Sanjay Singh, a prominent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader lodged in Tihar jail in the Delhi excise policy case. This decision came after the Enforcement Directorate expressed no objection to his bail.
The apex court specified that Sanjay Singh should be released on bail “during the pendency of proceedings,” with terms and conditions to be determined by the trial court, citing the ED’s stance.
A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Dipankar Datta, and PB Varale emphasised that this concession should not serve as precedent. Additionally, the court affirmed Sanjay Singh’s entitlement to continue his political activities.
Aam Aadmi Party leader and Rajya Sabha member of Parliament Sanjay Singh became the first high profile accused in the Delhi excise case to receive a bail from the Supreme Court on Tuesday after spending more than six months in prison.
Singh, who was arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on 4 October 2023, received the bail from the three bench judge of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Dipankar Datta and Prassana B Varale after the ED said that it had no objection to the grant of bail.
Apart from Singh the other prominent politicians who are in prison in the case and whose bail hearings are likely to be impacted by the developments in the case includes- Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia and Kavitha Kalvakuntla leader of Bharat Rashtra Samithi Leader, Telangana.
Before granting the bail to Singh on the submissions made by his lawyer, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, the bench had asked the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) of India, SV Raju to communicate with his client (ED) whether they require Singh’s custody and come back with a response after the lunch break. The bench told Raju that if there are no instructions from his clients, the ASG can argue on merits of the case.
In what is being seen as an indication of the how strong or feeble the ED’s findings and arguments in the case, while the hearing was going on, Justice Datta told ASG Raju that if the court decides to grant bail to Singh on merits, it may have to observe in his favour considering the mandate of Section 45 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
As per Section 45 of the PMLA, a court can release the accused only if it is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that he is not guilty of the offence and that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail. “Mr Raju, please keep in mind we have to as per Section 45 observe in favour of the petitioner, please understand the implications of that during trial. So get instructions on whether you need further custody,” Justice Datta stated.
When the bench reassembled at 2 PM, Raju told the court that, “Without going into merits, I will make a concession in the bail matter in the peculiar facts,” after which the Supreme Court granted him bail while stating that it has not expressed anything on the merits of the case. While he will be open to take part in political activities, Singh has asked not to make comments on the case.
Singh’s two bail pleas had earlier been rejected by the Delhi High Court in February this year and October last year. Earlier, Singhvi, while arguing in the case, claimed that that the entire ED case against Singh was based on the statement of approver-turned Dinesh Arora, who had made 9 exculpatory (something that relieves a person of a responsibility, obligation or clears them from accusation or blame) statements before finally naming Singh.
Arora is a Delhi based businessman having stakes in the restaurant industry..He holds the position of Managing Director at well-known establishments like Chica Delhi, Unplugged Courtyard, and La Roca Aerocity.
As per the chargesheet filed by the ED in the case earlier, Amit Arora, another businessman accused in the case had paid a bribe to Sisodia through Dinesh. “As elaborated… Amit Arora paid ₹2.2 crore to Manish Sisodia through Dinesh Arora for getting policy changes in his favour in the GoM report/excise policy 2021-22. “This amount is directly a bribe/kickback to a government functionary and is proceeds of crime under section 2(1)(u) of PMLA, 2002. In this manner, Manish Sisodia participated in the generation of the proceeds of crime,” the ED said in its prosecution complaint filed in May last year. Amit Arora is the promoter of liquor companies Buddy Retail Pvt Ltd, Popular Spirits and KSJM Spirits LLP.
Later, Dinesh Arora had turned approver in the case after being arrested in the case. In response to Singh’s bail, AAP leader Somnath Bharti criticized the federal agency, stating that it was exposed. Meanwhile, Delhi minister Atishi Marlena expressed satisfaction with the development.
This decision comes after a Delhi court remanded Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to judicial custody until April 15 in the liquorgate scandal.
The ED also disclosed that in his statement, Kejriwal mentioned AAP ministers Atishi and Saurabh concerning the accused in the excise policy case.