New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday (September 17) granted bail to businessmen Amit Arora and Amandeep Singh Dhall in an excise policy-linked money laundering case.
With grant of bail to Arora and Dhall, now all accused in ED case have been granted bail
With the grant of bail to Arora and Dhall, now all the accused in the money laundering case, registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), have been granted bail in the money laundering case. In the main corruption case also, registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), several key accused are out on bail.
CBI, ED have registered cases in connection with alleged excise policy scam
The CBI and ED have registered a corruption and money laundering cases in connection with the alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-defunct Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Vijai Nair and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s daughter K Kavitha were arrested in the excise policy-linked corruption and money laundering cases and they are now out on bail.
The Supreme Court granted bail to Kejriwal, Sisodia and Kavitha in the CBI and ED cases and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and former AAP communication in-charge Vijay Nair in the ED case. Citing the apex court order in Sisodia case, the High Court this month granted bail to Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramchandra Pillai, liquor businessman Sameer Mahendru and AAP volunteer in Goa assembly election Chanpreet Singh Rayat.
What did the High Court say?
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, while granting bail to Arora and Dhall, said that there are around 69,000 pages of documents involved in both CBI and ED matters and there are 493 witnesses, who have to be examined on behalf of the prosecution. In the same case, the other accused persons, namely, Manish Sisodia, K.Kavitha, Vijay Nair, Sameer Mahandru, Arvind Kejriwal among others have already been admitted to bail in similar circumstances, the High Court noted.
The High Court relied on the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Manish Sisodia, Kavitha and Vijay Nair which has observed that prolonged incarceration before being pronounced guilty of an offence should not be permitted to become punishment without trial and that fundamental right of liberty provided under Article 21 of the Constitution is superior to statutory restrictions and reiterated the principle that bail is the rule and refusal is an exception.
The High Court, while granting bail to Arora and Dhall, also imposed certain conditions on them, including not to leave the country without permission of the High Court and to not make any attempt to tamper with the evidence or influence the witnesses.
