Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court on Tuesday (September 3) took cognisance of a chargesheet against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak and others in the corruption case linked to alleged liquor scam. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja said there was sufficient evidence against Kejriwal and the other accused to proceed against them.
The judge issued a production warrant for Kejriwal and summoned Pathak on September 11.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed a supplementary chargesheet against Kejriwal, Pathak, Vinod Chauhan, Ashish Mathur and Sarath Reddy. In the CBI case related to the Delhi liquor policy, AAP leaders Amit Arora, Ashish Mathur, P. Sharad Reddy, and Vinod Chauhan have also been summoned as accused.
The CBI informed the court last month that it had procured the requisite sanctions to prosecute Kejriwal and Pathak in the case. The federal agency had earlier procured the sanctions to investigate them in the case.
What did the CBI say in chargesheet?
In its chargesheet, the CBI has stated that Arvind Kejriwal is one of the main conspirators in the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam. According to the CBI:
- Main conspirator: The CBI claims that Kejriwal played a key role in the liquor policy scam.
- Contact with south lobby: Kejriwal’s close associate, Vijay Nair, contacted liquor traders and manufacturers from the South Lobby on Kejriwal's instructions.
- Bribery allegation: The bribe money of ₹100 crores received from the South Lobby was allegedly used by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the Goa elections. AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak was managing the Goa election at that time.
- Transaction detection: The CBI claims to have traced transactions worth ₹45 crores.
- Statement by Arun Pillai: The CBI alleges that accused Arun Pillai stated that Kejriwal and Sisodia were working together on the excise policy.
- Trust in Vijay Nair: The CBI claims that Vijay Nair facilitated a video call with Sameer Mahendru, during which Kejriwal allegedly said to trust Nair as he was "his man."
The court has also extended Arvind Kejriwal's judicial custody in the CBI case until September 11.
Delhi Excise policy case
The matter relates to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government's now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22. It is alleged that the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge repeatedly refuted by the AAP. The policy was subsequently scrapped and Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation probe, following which the ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
According to the CBI and the ED, irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy and undue favours were extended to licence holders.
