Supreme Court issues notice to centre and ED on AAP leader Sanjay Singh's arrest plea

The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Centre and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in response to a plea filed by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh challenging his arrest and remand in connection with a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. The bench, comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti, has directed the Centre and ED to submit their responses by December 11, 2023.

Sanjay Singh, arrested by the ED on October 4, approached the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court upheld his arrest in its October 20 judgment. The High Court had declined to intervene, stating it couldn't impute a political motive to the investigating agency without sufficient evidence.

The Supreme Court has taken cognizance of AAP leader Sanjay Singh's plea against his arrest and remand by issuing notices to the Centre and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The bench, consisting of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti, has set a deadline of December 11, 2023, for the Centre and ED to respond to Singh's arrest plea in the money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.

The bench emphasized that any petition for regular bail filed by Singh during this period should be considered independently of the observations made in the Delhi High Court's judgment on October 20, which upheld his arrest. Singh's arrest stems from accusations related to irregularities in modifying the now-revoked Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, with allegations of undue favors to license holders. The AAP leader's role in formulating and implementing the controversial policy has been a focal point of the investigation, resulting in his ED custody.