The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday informed the Supreme Court that it is contemplating making Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) an accused in the money laundering case linked to the now scrapped Delhi excise policy.
The central agency made the submission while arguing against bail to former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia.
The top court told the ED to inform on Tuesday whether it was proposed to be part of a separate or the same offence in the ED case.
On October 6, the apex court asked the ED how an offence could be made against Sisodia if there was no apparent money trail connecting him directly with a lobby that allegedly paid kickbacks to receive benefits under the excise policy.
While hearing the AAP leader's bail plea, a bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti had observed there were procedural and factual flaws in the ED case against him under the 2002 Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)
“How will you bring him (Sisodia) under PMLA? Has money gone into his pocket? The chain is not fully established. Money came to somebody else, its acquisition and use is by somebody else...You have to establish the flow of money from the liquor lobby to the accused,” the bench had asked additional solicitor general (ASG) SV Raju, who represented ED and the CBI, both probing alleged irregularities in the policy implementation.
{{/usCountry}}“How will you bring him (Sisodia) under PMLA? Has money gone into his pocket? The chain is not fully established. Money came to somebody else, its acquisition and use is by somebody else...You have to establish the flow of money from the liquor lobby to the accused,” the bench had asked additional solicitor general (ASG) SV Raju, who represented ED and the CBI, both probing alleged irregularities in the policy implementation.
{{/usCountry}}The bench had said most of the allegations in the corruption case registered by the CBI against Sisodia were “hearsay”, based on the statements made by approvers and would not pass scrutiny before the trial court without any concrete material.