Excise 'scam': HC stays bail granted to Arvind Kejriwal in money laundering case
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Tuesday stayed the trial court order granting bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the money laundering case stemming from the alleged excise scam.
A vacation bench of Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain said the trial court failed to appreciate the material placed before it by the Enforcement Directorate and did not apply its mind while deciding the AAP leader's bail plea.
The judge also said the trial court ought to have given adequate opportunity to the agency to argue its case.
"The operation of the impugned order is stayed," the bench said.
The trial court had granted bail to Kejriwal on June 20 and ordered his release on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh.
ED moved the high court the next day and contended that the trial court's order was "perverse", "one-sided" and "wrong-sided" and that the findings were based on irrelevant facts.
The excise policy was scrapped in 2022 after the Delhi lieutenant governor ordered a CBI probe into alleged irregularities and corruption involving its formulation and execution.
According to the CBI and the ED, irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy and undue favours extended to the licence holders.
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Baba Siddique murder case: Special MCOCA court issues open-ended warrants against three gangsters
Mumbai: A special MCOCA court on Wednesday issued open-ended warrants against gangsters Anmol Bishnoi, Shubham Lonkar, and Yasin Akhtar in connection with the murder of former MLA Baba Siddique. The court observed that they played active roles in the crime and have remained untraceable despite multiple efforts by the investigating agency.
The prosecution had approached the court on Tuesday, seeking the warrants. Siddique, 66, was killed on October 12 near his son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Bandra. So far, 26 suspects have been arrested in the case, and a charge sheet was submitted last month, alleging that Bishnoi ordered the murder while leading the gang.
Public prosecutor Wajeed Shaikh stated that Bishnoi had instructed the arrested accused to carry out the murder through Snapchat and also provided financial support. The prosecution also noted that an extradition request for Bishnoi had been sent to the United States in connection with an earlier firing incident at Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s residence.
Regarding Akhtar, the prosecution highlighted his contact with arrested shooters Dharmraj Kashyap, Gurmel Singh, and Shivakumar Gautam through Snapchat, Instagram, and WhatsApp. As for Lonkar, the prosecution pointed to multiple financial transactions linked to the arrested accused and described him as an active gang member.
Additionally, the prosecution revealed that Lonkar had practiced firing in Jharkhand before the murder. He, along with arrested accused Pravin Lonkar, was involved in handing over the firearm to Rupesh Mohol, who later claimed responsibility for the killing through a Facebook post.
After hearing the prosecution’s plea, the court allowed the request, stating that the three accused were directly involved in the crime and remained at large.
