NEW DELHI: The home ministry has granted permission to ED to prosecute former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for alleged money laundering connected to the liquor scam case.
A special PMLA court in Delhi had paused framing of charges against Kejriwal after he moved Delhi HC against the trial court taking cognisance of the chargesheet in the absence of specific sanction for prosecution under PMLA. CBI, which has filed a chargesheet against Kejriwal under the Prevention of Corruption Act, had got the requisite sanction in Aug last year.
Kejriwal and AAP have been accused of receiving bribes from the ‘South Group‘, a cartel that controlled sale and distribution of liquor in the national capital and allegedly benefitted from the excise policy framed by the Delhi govt for 2021-22.
In Nov order, SC said ED needed specific sanction for prosecution under PMLA
The AAP chief had, citing a Supreme Court order of Nov 6, contended before the HC that sanction secured by CBI was not a green light for ED to prosecute him, and the agency needed a separate go-ahead to put him on trial under PMLA.
In its Nov order, the apex court had said ED needed specific sanction from the competent authority for prosecution of accused under PMLA, leading other PMLA accused to seek quashing of chargesheets against them.
Sources said ED has sought permission “without prejudice” in all its money laundering cases against public servants as mandated by the SC judgment, which asked the agency to seek sanction from competent authority under Section 197(1) of CrPC. Two other requests – to prosecute former finance minister P Chidambaram and Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren – are being processed by the ministry. Simultaneously, the agency has moved several other requests to MHA for sanctions under PMLA against politicians and senior IAS officers in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.
The anti-money laundering agency is also in the process of filing a review petition against the SC judgment that has resulted in multiple litigation by accused seeking quashing of charges.
