The Delhi High Court authorized the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to deliver its plea electronically to 35 accused in the 2021-22 excise policy money laundering case, aiming to save costs. The ED argued traditional methods would cost Rs 3 lakh for 1,500 pages. The next hearing is scheduled for January 30, 2025, amidst ongoing investigations.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday permitted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to serve its plea electronically to 35 accused in the alleged money laundering case related to the 2021-22 excise policy, emphasizing the move would save public funds. The ED highlighted that delivering the 1,500-page appeal paperbook to all accused through traditional means would cost approximately Rs 3 lakh.
Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri approved the ED’s application, allowing the petition copy to be shared with the accused and their counsel through electronic means. The court assured that if any accused requested a physical or legible copy, the request would be considered.
Previously, the court sought responses from 40 accused, including prominent AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Sanjay Singh, on the ED’s plea challenging a trial court’s order. The order directed the ED to provide “unrelied documents”—records not used by the prosecution to support its case—to the accused.
The ED’s application to serve the remaining 35 accused electronically was filed after traditional service methods proved time-consuming and costly. The case is set for its next hearing on January 30, 2025.
In November, the trial court instructed the ED to supply chargesheets and digitized records of the unrelied documents to the accused. However, the ED contested this directive, arguing it conflicted with a Supreme Court ruling that mandates only a list of unrelied documents be provided at this stage—not the documents themselves.
The money laundering case is linked to alleged irregularities in the excise policy’s modification, with claims of undue favours to license holders. The Delhi government implemented the policy in November 2021, but it was scrapped by September 2022 amid corruption allegations.
The case stems from a CBI probe initiated after Delhi Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena recommended an investigation into these alleged irregularities. Apart from AAP leaders, accused individuals include BRS leader K. Kavitha and several businessmen.
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