Sanjay Singh was arrested by ED on Wednesday after searches at his residence; AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Vijay Nair are already behind bars in the case.
A Delhi court on Thursday remanded Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Member of Parliament (MP) Sanjay Singh to Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody till October 10 in the case related to the Delhi excise policy scam.
Special judge MK Nagpal passed the order after ED sought 10 days of custody of Singh.
The counsel appearing for the ED argued that an amount of about ₹ 2 crores was exchanged at Singh’s residence.
“Total 2 crore transaction is there in two tranches … Dinesh Arora’s CA confirmed this … Total 239 places searched, sir. Investigation has revealed that 2 crore cash was given,” the ED submitted.
The ED counsel added the agency needed custody over Singh to confront him with digital evidence, including evidence from his phone.
Meanwhile, Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur appeared for Singh and opposed the ED’s plea for 10 days’ remand.
“Ten days is an absurd proposition for someone who was not involved at all. The case was about liquor policy, he had nothing to do with it,” Mathur argued.
The senior lawyer questioned the basis on which Singh was arrested in the case, contending that an approver, Dinesh Arora, may have implicated the AAP leader to secure his (Arora’s) liberty.
“Look at the changing stand of Dinesh Arora. He gives statements in March and April. He was granted bail and then his tune changes …You don’t want to call me for investigation. You want to humiliate me by arresting,” Mathur argued.
In rejoinder submissions, the ED opposed Mathur’s claim that Arora may have been forced to implicate Singh in the case.
“The argument that Dinesh Arora gave the statements on inducement is completely baseless. They can’t dictate where they are arrested either. It is the sole discretion of the IO,” argued Special Counsel Zoheb Hossain.
In a move that was objected to by the ED, Sanjay Singh also personally addressed the court, questioning why the approvers had decided to implicate him out of the blue.
“Itna unknown aadmi to mai hu nahi ki usko mera naa yaad nahi aaya. Dinesh Arora ko bhi mera naam yaad nahi aaya. Achanak aesa kya hua ki usne saara bayan mere khilaaf diya. Ye jhhut failana, bebuniyaad investigation karna… agar meri galati hai to mujhe sakht se sakht saza de … Main to bas itna hi kehna chahta hu ki mere liye koi alag kanoon nahi ho sakta … Aap nyay ki kursi par hain, sir.”
(Translation: I am not so unknown that he (Amit Arora) did not remember my name while giving earlier statements. Dinesh Arora also did not remember my name. What happened suddenly that he gave all the statements against me? They are spreading lies and this investigation is baseless. If I am guilty, give me the harshest punishment. All I want to say is that there cannot be a different law for me. You are sitting on the chair of justice, sir.)
The Rajya Sabha MP was arrested by ED on October 4 following the Central agency’s search at his residence.
This is the third high-profile arrest of the AAP leader in the excise policy case. AAP communications in-charge, Vijay Nair, was arrested in September 2022. Later, former Deputy Chief Minster of Delhi and AAP leader, Manish Sisodia was arrested in February 2023. Both the leaders are still behind bars.
Singh’s arrest came a day after the Court allowed businessman Dinesh Arora and Raghav Magunta Reddy (both of whom were accused in the case) to become approvers.
It is the ED’s case that Singh played a key role in framing and implementing a now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy which was allegedly aimed at benefiting certain liquor manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers.
Source: https://www.barandbench.com/news/delhi-court-remands-aap-mp-sanjay-singh-ed-custody-october-10