ED makes fresh arrest in Delhi excise policy money laundering case
New Delhi (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested advertising professional Rajesh Joshi in connection with its money laundering investigation into alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy, officials said Thursday.
Joshi was placed under arrest under the sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and his links with regard to alleged diversion of 'kickbacks' for the Goa assembly polls of last year are under the scanner of the agency, they said.
The ED has alleged in a charge sheet submitted to the court that a part of the alleged Rs 100 crore "kickbacks" generated in the scrapped Delhi excise policy were "used" in the 2022 Goa assembly election campaign of the CM Arvind Kejriwal-led party.
The ED, till now, has filed two charge sheets or prosecution complaints in this case and has arrested a total of eight people, including Joshi.
The ED's money laundering stems from the CBI FIR.
Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and other excise officials of the government were named as accused in the CBI and the ED complaints.
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K’taka HC judge whose controversial remarks triggered controversy expresses regret before open court
Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court judge, Justice V Srishananda, on Saturday expressed regret in open court after facing backlash over his controversial remarks in his recent court hearings, reported Bar and Bench.
Two purported video clips from Justice V Srishananda’s court hearing that show him making inappropriate comments went viral across social media platforms.
On Saturday, Justice Srishananda invited members of the Advocates Association, Bengaluru, and senior lawyers to his courtroom at 2:30 PM, where he read out a note expressing regret for inappropriate comments.
Quoting Advocates Association President Vivek Subba Reddy, Bar and Bench wrote, “He expressed regret for the comments and clarified that it was not his intention to offend any community or members of the Bar. He also requested the association to relay this message to all members of the Bar.”
Reddy further stated, “We also advised him to encourage young lawyers in the courtroom and refrain from making any irrelevant remarks during hearings.”
Another senior lawyer present during the session confirmed to the legal news portal that Justice Srishananda also addressed comments directed at a woman lawyer, who was seen in one of the videos being reprimanded by the judge. The judge Justice Srishananda clarified that his remarks were not intended to target her (woman lawyer) specifically, but rather pertained to the appellant she was representing. “He explained that his comment was meant to imply that the appellant seemed to know a lot about the other party,” said the lawyer.
In addition, Justice Srishananda assured those present that he would avoid making such comments in the future.
The controversy came to light on September 19, when a video clip from an August 28 Court hearing surfaced on social media, showing Justice Srishananda referring to a Muslim-majority sub-locality in Bengaluru’s Goripalya as "Pakistan." Hours later, another video from the same courtroom emerged, in which the judge was seen making a gender-insensitive remark.
Following outrage over the viral videos, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy, on September 20 took a suo motu cognizance and sought a report from the Karnataka High Court Registrar General in connection with the viral video.
