Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia to be prosecuted, ED gets approval

In view of the Delhi Assembly elections, the troubles of Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia seem to be increasing. The Union Home Ministry has given approval to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to prosecute Arvind Kejriwal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for his alleged involvement in money laundering related to the liquor scam case. According to sources, approval has also been given to prosecute senior AAP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.

The Union Home Ministry has given permission to the ED to prosecute Kejriwal under the PMLA for alleged money laundering related to the 2021-22 liquor scam case. This policy was later scrapped by the then AAP government led by Kejriwal.

The move follows the Supreme Court's November 2024 ruling that the ED, like the CBI, would need to seek prior sanction to prosecute money laundering cases under Section 197 (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (now Section 218 of the Indian Civil Defence Code).

A special PMLA court in Delhi had stayed the process of framing of charges against Arvind Kejriwal after he challenged in the Delhi High Court that cognizance of the charge sheet cannot be taken without prosecution sanction under the PMLA.

Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena last month gave approval to the agency to prosecute former CM Kejriwal. The CBI, which filed a chargesheet under the Prevention of Corruption Act, got the necessary approval in the liquor policy-related corruption case in August 2024.

The ED had arrested Arvind Kejriwal and named him in the chargesheet. Kejriwal is currently out on bail. In the chargesheet, the ED claimed that he had taken bribes to favour some liquor traders for campaigning in the Goa elections. The investigating agency had said that Kejriwal was responsible for the money being used and the money generated as the national convenor and member of the national executive of the AAP.

Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party are accused of accepting bribes from a cartel called the 'South Group', which controlled the sale and distribution of liquor in the national capital. The group allegedly benefited from the excise policy formulated by the Delhi government for 2021-22.

Both Kejriwal and Sisodia are currently out on bail. They have rejected the charges against them and accused the BJP of using investigative agencies to harass political rivals. Both leaders are now campaigning for the February 5 elections in Delhi. Kejriwal has said that he will file his nomination from the New Delhi constituency on Wednesday.