The ED and CBI are contemplating making the Aam Aadmi Party an accused in the alleged Delhi Excise Policy scam, in which three party leaders are already in jail.
ASG SV Raju told the Supreme Court on Monday that he has instructions to make the statement that the agencies are "contemplating making the Aam Aadmi Party an accused and invoking Section 70 to probe it additionally with respect to vicarious liability".
SC had earlier questioned why AAP was not made accused
Earlier, during a plea hearing for AAP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, the Supreme Court had asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as to why the AAP had not been implicated as a defendant under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), even though it was purportedly a beneficiary of the scam.
Up to this point, three prominent leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party, who are also close associates of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal—Manish Sisodia, Satyender Jain, and Sanjay Singh—have been apprehended in connection with this case.
Delhi Excise policy case
The Delhi government introduced the 2021-22 excise policy as a measure to revamp the liquor trade. Within this policy, the government discontinued its involvement in retail liquor operations, permitting private licensees to establish liquor outlets throughout the city. However, allegations of improprieties in both the creation and execution of this policy, favoring private entities, emerged. According to agency reports, the Delhi government generated revenue of Rs 6,762 crore through excise and VAT on liquor sales. Subsequently, the Delhi government abandoned the 2021-22 excise policy and reverted to the previous system. This entailed four government agencies regaining control of retail liquor trade as of September 1, 2022.
