The Supreme Court told the ED on Thursday that it must prove the flow of money from a liquor lobby to the "concerned person" as it resumed the hearing of former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia's bail pleas in the alleged Delhi excise policy scam — the corruption case being investigated by the CBI and the related money laundering case being investigated by the ED.
While establishing such a link is challenging, the court stated that this is where the investigating agency's competence comes into play. "You must demonstrate that money must go from the liquor lobby to the concerned individual... We appreciate it's difficult to prove that, but here's where the investigative agency comes in: how do you prove it?" it asked.
When Additional Solicitor General SV Raju stated that the assertions in the chargesheet were all corroborated, the Supreme Court bench responded that "these statements are from people who have become your approvers," referring to Sisodia's close aide Dinesh Arora being an approver in the case.
The Supreme Court heard arguments from both sides and also requested the ED to explain the evidence trail and how money was transferred in the case. It further stated that the investigating agencies used two different values in their chargesheets: the CBI used Rs 100 crore and the ED used Rs 33 crore.
"You took two amounts — Rs 100 crore and Rs 33 crore. How can you know they're tied to liquor when there are so many people who can donate to a political party?"
Raju said that there is involvement. However, the court said, "The CBI chargesheet stated Rs 100 crore, but the amount is reduced to Rs 33 crore in the ED chargesheet." Dinesh Arora is the lucky receiver. Where is the proof? Is there any additional evidence except Dinesh Arora's statement? Where may the angadias be found? "How did the money get to Goa?"
The bail hearing has been postponed till next Thursday (October 12).
On Wednesday (October 11), the Supreme Court (SC) requested the ED to explain why the political party (AAP), which is believed to have benefited from the liquor policy scam, has not been charged in the money laundering case. The ED claims the AAP utilized Rs 100 crore in kickbacks from various stakeholders for their campaign in the Goa assembly elections in 2022.
The query was addressed by a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti as the hearing on Sisodia's bail applications began. "In terms of the PMLA case, your entire case is that it (kickback) went to the political party." It is the benefactor, not him (Sisodia), but you must explain why the political party is still not a defendant in the lawsuit. "How do you explain this?" the bench asked Raju, who represented the ED.
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