Page 2 - Excise Duty

Don't want Kejriwal performing CM's duties if released on interim bail: SC

The Supreme Court said on Tuesday it doesn't want Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to discharge his official duties if he is released on interim bail in the money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam as it would lead to a conflict of interest. Kejriwal failed to get any relief from the top court, with a two-judge bench rising without pronouncing an order granting him interim bail to enable him to campaign in the Lok Sabha elections. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader was arrested on March 21 and is currently lodged in Tihar Jail under judicial custody. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, which reserved its verdict on the question of interim bail, said allowing Kejriwal to attend his office may have a "cascading effect". "Suppose we grant you interim bail on account of elections. Then if you say you will attend office, it may have a cascading effect. If we give you interim bail, we don't want you to perform official duties as somewhere it will

Excise scam case: Court extends Kavitha's judicial custody till May 14

A Delhi court on Tuesday extended till May 14 the judicial custody of BRS leader K Kavitha in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise scam. Special judge for CBI and ED matters Kaveri Baweja extended the custody of the Telangana MLC after she was produced before the court on expiry of her remand. During the proceedings, the Enforcement Directorate told the court the investigation was at a crucial stage and it may file a charge sheet against Kavitha within a week.

Excise policy scam: Court sends K Kavitha to judicial custody till April 23

A Delhi court on Monday sent BRS leader K Kavitha, arrested in connection with a corruption case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, to judicial custody till April 23. The daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao was arrested from the Tihar Jail, where she was lodged after her arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The CBI produced the accused before the court on expiry of her three-day police custody granted earlier by the judge and sought her JC. The CBI told the court that she was not required for further custodial interrogation. Advocate Nitesh Rana, representing Kavitha along with Deepak Nagar, opposed the police plea, saying the grounds were not sufficient to keep her in custody since she is no longer required for custodial interrogation. CBI officials had recently questioned Kavitha inside prison after obtaining permission from a special court. The BRS leader was questioned about the WhatsApp chats recovered from co-accused Buchi Babu

Arrest legal, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to remain in jail: Delhi High Court

Court says material collected by ED reveals CM 'conspired', 'used proceeds of crime'

HC to pronounce on Tuesday verdict on CM Kejriwal's plea challenging arrest

The Delhi High Court is scheduled to deliver on Tuesday its verdict on a plea by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is in judicial custody in a money laundering case linked with the alleged excise scam, challenging his arrest. As per the cause list uploaded on the high court's website, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma will pronounce the order at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Besides his arrest, Kejriwal has also challenged his subsequent remand in the Enforcement Directorate's custody. He was later remanded in judicial custody and is currently lodged in Tihar jail. The AAP national convener has questioned the "timing" of his arrest by the agency and said it was in contravention of the basic structure of the Constitution, including democracy, free and fair elections and level playing field. The ED has opposed the plea and contended that Kejriwal cannot claim "immunity" from arrest on the ground of upcoming elections as law is applied equally to him and an "aam aadmi". Kejriwal was arrested by

Excise policy case: ED questions Kejriwal's PA, AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday questioned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's personal assistant Bibhav Kumar and AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak in the excise policy-linked money laundering case, officials said. Their statement is being recorded under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said. Both of them have been questioned in this case earlier too by the ED. Sources said Kumar's questioning was essential in connection with the engagements of Kejriwal. The 55-year-old CM, also the national convenor of the AAP, was arrested by the ED in this case last month. He is currently lodged in the Tihar Jail under judicial custody. The agency had alleged in its earlier charge sheets that at least 36 accused, including former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Kumar, "destroyed, used or changed" 170 phones to conceal evidence of "kickbacks" worth thousands of crores of rupees in the alleged scam. The IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identi

Sisodia writes letter from Tihar Jail, says 'Will meet you soon outside'

AAP leader Manish Sisodia has written a letter from Tihar Jail to the people of his assembly constituency, comparing his plight with the atrocities committed by the Britishers against freedom fighters and asserting his commitment to education. The former deputy chief minister, who has been arrested in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam case, also expressed hope that he will be out of jail soon. "Will meet you soon outside. The British rulers had also arrogance of power and they sent people to jail in false cases," he said and added that Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, who spent many years in jail, were his inspiration. Sisodia's bail hearing is scheduled in a Delhi court on Saturday. In the letter to people of his assembly constituency Patparganj in east Delhi, Sisodia, said a struggle for good education and schools is underway like people fought for freedom of the country. "Education revolution Zindabad. Love you all," Sisodia, who also served as education minister i

Centre asserts in SC its right to levy excise duty on industrial alcohol

Asserting its right to regulate industrial alcohol, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Thursday that legislative power to levy excise duty on alcohol not fit for human consumption but meant for industrial use lies exclusively with Parliament. Arguing before a nine-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, Attorney General R Venkataramani submitted that a "conscious decision" was taken to treat alcoholic liquors fit for human consumption and alcoholic liquors not fit for human consumption separately, with the former falling within the domain of provincial legislatures and the latter within the ambit of the federal legislature. "It is submitted that the legislative power in relation to levy excise duty upon non-potable liquor is exclusively with the Parliament, and upon potable liquor is exclusively with the Legislatures of the States," Venkataramani told the bench, also comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Abhay S Oka, B V Nagarathna, J B Pardiwala, Manoj ...

AAP leader Sanjay Singh walks out of Tihar jail after nearly 6 months

Sanjay Singh was granted bail by the Supreme Court after the ED raised no objections

Excise policy case: Kejriwal remanded in judicial custody till April 15

A Delhi court on Monday sent Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to judicial custody till April 15 in the excise policy-linked money laundering case. Kejriwal was produced in the court of Special Judge Kaveri Baweja after his Enforcement Directorate custody came to an end. The ED had sought 15-day judicial custody of Kejriwal, saying he was "totally uncooperative". Speaking to reporters before entering court, the AAP leader said, "Whatever the prime minister is doing(referring to his arrest) is not good for the country". AAP ministers Atishi, Saurabh Bhardwaj and Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal were present in court. The federal probe agency had arrested Kejriwal on March 21 in connection with the case. The next day, Special Judge Baweja remanded him in the custody of the ED till March 28. Following this, the court allowed the ED's plea requesting extension of his custodial interrogation by four days till April 1. In its remand application, the probe agency has accused the AAP lead

I-T, CBI also detected Rs 45 cr kickback used in AAP Goa poll campaign: ED

The money trail of the alleged Rs 45 crore kickbacks generated from the Delhi excise policy "scam" and used for the 2022 Goa election campaign by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), as claimed by the Enforcement Directorate, has also been "substantiated" by the CBI and the Income-Tax department in their separate investigations, according to documents filed in court. A wide network of Hawala operators and 'Angadiyas' are also being investigated by the ED in this case where it recently arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and claimed he and his political outfit are liable to be prosecuted in the alleged laundering of these funds. Statements of five 'Angadiya' firm operators have also been recorded by the ED to establish the "money trail" of this alleged Rs 45 crore bribe amount. 'Angadiyas' are informal courier and bank services like Hawala which are especially used by diamond and jewellery sector businesses to transfer big cash amounts and other valuables by skirting the KYC-based ..

Excise case: Court extends Delhi CM Kejriwal's custody till April 1

The agency had sought seven-day custody of the AAP chief, but the court said he has to be produced before the court on April 1 at 11 am

Excise policy case: Delhi HC rejects CM Kejriwal's interim bail plea

The judge, in the order, clarified the matter would be taken up for final disposal on April 3 and no adjournment shall be granted

Delhi excise scam: CM Kejriwal urges HC to order release from ED custody

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday urged the Delhi High Court to order his immediate release from ED custody in connection with a money-laundering case linked to the excise policy 'scam', contending his arrest on the cusp of elections was against the basic structure of the Constitution. Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for the AAP leader, argued that the "Object of the arrest was not to find material but to disable me and my party. My prayer is, release me now". Singhvi further claimed that there was no "necessity" to arrest Kejriwal, as mandated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, and that the grounds of "non-cooperation" were the most abused by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, who orally said she would issue a notice on the petition and grant time to the ED to file a reply to it, said she would pass an order in the matter and upload the same later in the day. Singhvi urged the court to grant interim relief in the meantime to

HC to hear Kejriwal's challenge to arrest in excise policy case on March 27

The Delhi High Court will on Wednesday hear a petition by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money-laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam. Kejriwal's petition, which has sought his immediate release on account of the arrest and the subsequent remand to ED being "illegal", is listed for hearing before Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma at 10.30 am. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener was arrested on March 21 and subsequently remanded to the ED's custody till March 28 by a Delhi court. Kejriwal had moved the high court last week with his petition but according to highly-placed sources, his request for an urgent hearing was turned down as the high court was closed for Holi. On Friday, the trial court had remanded Kejriwal in the ED's custody till March 28 "for his detailed and sustained interrogation". The ED arrested Kejriwal hours after the high court refused to grant him protection from coercive

Delhi excise policy case: BRS leader Kavitha remanded to judicial custody

A court here on Tuesday sent BRS leader K Kavitha to 14-day judicial custody in the Delhi excise policy scam case. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja passed the order after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) did not seek an extension of her custodial interrogation. The BRS leader was sent to seven-day ED custody on March 16 and it was extended by three days last Saturday. During the proceedings, Kavitha's advocate Nitesh Rana sought interim bail on the grounds of her minor son's exam. The counsel for the ED countered the bail, saying even if interim bail is to be considered, then opportunity must be given for filing a reply. The ED underlined that for both interim and regular bail there were stringent provisions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency has alleged that Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, was a key member of the 'South Group' that has been accused of paying the AAP kickbacks of Rs 100 crore in return for a bi

Court extends ED custody of Kavitha till Mar 26 in Delhi excise policy case

A court here on Saturday extended the Enforcement Directorate custody of BRS leader K Kavitha, an accused in the Delhi excise policy scam case, till March 26. The federal probe agency has sought a five-day extension of her custody. The ED has alleged that Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, was a key member of the 'South Group' that has been accused of paying the AAP kickbacks of Rs 100 crore in return for a big share of liquor licences in the national capital. After producing her in court, the ED said that she was confronted with the statements of four people and a forensic report of the data extracted from her phone. The probe agency also told the court that raids were being conducted at the house of her nephew in Hyderabad. BRS leader's counsel filed a bail plea in court. Kavitha, 46, a Telangana Legislative Council member, was arrested by the central probe agency from her residence at Banjara Hills in Hyderabad on March 15.

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Kejriwal arrested in excise policy-linked money laundering case: A timeline

CM Kejriwal will now appeal to SC on Friday seeking an urgent hearing of his petition for protection from any coercive action by the ED

Excise scam: HC denies Kejriwal protection from coercive action in ED case

The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to grant Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal any protection from coercive action in an excise policy-linked money laundering case. A bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Manoj Jain listed the AAP leader's application seeking protection for further consideration on April 22 when his main petition challenging the summons is fixed for hearing. "We have heard both sides and we are not inclined at this stage (to grant protection). The respondent is at liberty to file reply," the bench said. The application for interim relief forms part of Kejriwal's petition challenging the Enforcement Directorate's summonses issued to him for questioning. Kejriwal has moved the court in the wake of the latest summons, the ninth issued by the ED, asking him to appear before it on Thursday. During the hearing, the senior counsel for the AAP chief also sought deferment of the summons issued for today. "It is already over. Time is over. He is not attending," Additio