Page 36 - Enforcement Directorate

No exception made in granting interim bail to Arvind Kejriwal: SC to ED

The Supreme Court said Thursday that it has not made any exception for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in granting him interim bail for campaigning in the Lok Sabha polls and "critical analysis of the judgment is welcome". A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta refused to consider claims and counters of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Kejriwal's lawyer on statements made related to the interim bail to the Aam Aadmi Party national convenor. "We have not made any exception for anybody, we said in our order what we felt was justified," the bench said, adding that critical analysis of the judgment is "welcome". Appearing for the ED, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta objected to Kejriwal's speeches in poll rallies that if people voted for AAP, he would not have to go back to prison on June 2. "It is his assumption, we cannot say anything," the bench told Mehta. A statement made by a senior Union minister, who was not named during the proceedings, was pointed out by

Delhi HC seeks CBI reply on K Kavitha's bail petition in liquor policy case

BRS leader K Kavitha was arrested by the CBI on April 11 and is in judicial custody in Tihar Jail in Delhi

ED can't arrest after special court takes cognisance of PMLA complaint: SC

Case before the Supreme Court arose from a Punjab and Haryana High Court decision that denied pre-arrest bail to multiple accused in a money laundering case

ED can't arrest accused after special court takes cognisance: SC

The Supreme Court Thursday held that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) cannot arrest an accused under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after a special court has taken cognisance of the complaint of money laundering. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said when an accused appears before a court in pursuance of a summons, the agency will have to apply to the court concerned to get his custody. "If the accused appears before the special court by summons (issued by court), it cannot be treated that he is in custody," it said. "Accused who appeared before the court pursuant to the summons not required to apply for bail, and thus twin conditions of Section 45 of PMLA not applicable," the bench said in its judgment. The twin conditions state that when an accused in a money laundering case applies for bail, the court has to first allow the public prosecutor to be heard and only when it is satisfied that the accused is not guilty and unlikely to commi

ED arrests Jharkhand minister Alamgir Alam in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate Wednesday arrested Congress leader and Jharkhand Rural Development Minister Alamgir Alam in a money laundering case, official sources said. The 70-year-old was taken into custody at the agency's zonal office here under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after about six hours of interrogation on the second day of questioning, the sources said. He was grilled by the federal agency Tuesday for over nine hours and his statement was also recorded. The agency had last week arrested Alam's personal secretary and state administrative service officer Sanjeev Kumar Lal (52) and the latter's domestic help Jahangir Alam (42) following the seizure of more than Rs 32 crore cash from a flat linked to them. The money laundering investigation pertains to alleged irregularities and payment of "bribes" in the state rural development department. While seeking the remand of the two arrested persons, the ED had informed a special PMLA court here

Excise policy scam: HC lists for July 11 Kejriwal's plea against ED summons

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday listed for hearing on July 11 Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's petition challenging the summonses issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with its probe into the excise policy-linked money laundering case. A bench headed by Justice Suresh Kumar Kait granted four more weeks to the AAP leader, who was given interim bail till June 1 by the Supreme Court for campaigning in the Lok Sabha Elections, to file a rejoinder to the reply submitted by the ED. The counsel for the ED has earlier said the petition against the summonses was infructuous after Kejriwal's arrest by the agency on March 21 in the money laundering case following the high court's refusal to grant him interim protection from coercive action. On Wednesday, the agency's lawyer said the petitioner must choose the forum before which he would press his issues. The court also observed that a single judge of the high court, while rejecting the AAP leader's petition against

Enforcement Directorate to name AAP as accused in liquor policy 'scam' case

Delhi excise policy case: The Delhi court deferred the hearing on the consideration of the 6th supplementary chargesheet filed by the ED to May 20

Court reserves order on bail plea of former JNU student Umar Khalid

A Delhi court on Monday reserved for May 28 its order on the bail plea of former JNU student Umar Khalid, who is an accused in the case of alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 northeast Delhi communal riots. Khalid has been booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and has been in jail since September 2020. Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai, who was hearing the second bail plea of Khalid before the special court, said that the order will be pronounced on May 28. Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad filed his written submissions against Khalid's plea. Earlier, Prasad had argued against granting him bail, saying Khalid's WhatsApp chat revealed that he was in the habit of creating social media narratives to influence bail hearings. Khalid's counsel disputed this argument, asking whether sharing WhatsApp messages was a criminal or terror act.

No interim relief for Hemant Soren; JMM chief cites Kejriwal's bail to SC

The Supreme Court scheduled former chief minister Hemant Soren's hearing for May 17, challenging his arrest in money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam

SC to hear former CM Hemant Soren's plea against ED arrest on May 13

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader and former chief minister Hemant Soren challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta will hear the plea of Soren in which he has challenged the May 3 order of the Jharkhand High Court dismissing his petition against the arrest. Soren had also sought interim bail for campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections till the court delivers its verdict on his plea against arrest. On May 10, the top court had disposed of Soren's plea seeking a direction to the high court to deliver its verdict on his petition challenging his arrest by the ED in a money laundering case. The court had observed that the petition of Soren has become infructuous as the high court has delivered its judgement on May 3 and the JMM leader has already challenged the same in the apex court. "This has become ...

Arvind Kejriwal gets bail till June 1, set to campaign for LS polls

But the Delhi CM can't visit his office, sign any official files, or comment on his role in the excise policy case

Delhi excise policy: ED files fresh charge sheet; names Kavitha, 4 others

The Delhi High Court on Friday sought the stand of the Enforcement Directorate on the bail plea by BRS leader K Kavitha in a money laundering case in connection with the alleged excise policy scam. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma listed the matter for further hearing on May 24. Kavitha has challenged the trial court's May 6 order by which her bail application was dismissed in the money laundering case. The trial court had also rejected her bail plea in the corruption case lodged by the CBI in connection with the "scam". The alleged scam pertains to the alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 that was later scrapped. Kavitha is in judicial custody in the two cases lodged by the CBI and the ED, respectively. The ED arrested Kavitha (46) from her Banjara Hills residence in Hyderabad on March 15. The CBI arrested the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader when she was already under judicial custody in the ED case

Arvind Kejriwal bail: From TMC to Congress, how political parties reacted

A SC bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta granted Delhi CM Kejriwal interim bail till June 1 and asked him to surrender on June 2

'Electioneering not fundamental right': ED opposes interim bail to Kejriwal

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday opposed in the Supreme Court the grant of interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a money-laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam, saying the right to campaign in elections is neither fundamental nor constitutional. In a fresh affidavit filed in the top court, the ED said no political leader has ever been granted interim bail for campaigning even if he is not contesting polls. "It is relevant to note that the right to campaign for an election is neither a fundamental right nor a constitutional right and not even a legal right," the agency said. It added that to its knowledge, "no political leader has been granted interim bail for campaigning even though he is not the contesting candidate. Even a contesting candidate is not granted interim bail if he is in custody for his own campaigning". On Wednesday, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who headed the bench that heard Kejriwal's petition against his arrest in the case

Liquor scam case: ED to file chargesheet against CM Kejriwal on May 10

The Enforcement Directorate to file its first chargesheet against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tomorrow in connection with the money laundering case related with the now-scrapped liquor policy

Send CBI, ED to probe Adani, Ambani: Rahul Gandhi replies to PM Modi's jibe

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold a probe by the CBI or ED into whether businessmen Adani and Ambani sent his party "money in a tempo". Rahul Gandhi's retort to PM Modi came after the latter attacked him at an election rally saying why he has "stopped" naming Adani and Ambani in his attacks and whether he has received money from them in return. Taking a swipe at the Prime Minister, Gandhi in a video message asked whether Modi was speaking from his "personal experience" about money being sent by businessmen. "The money that PM Modi has given to the two businessmen, the Congress party will give the same amount of money to the people of India through the various schemes that the party has promised," Gandhi said. "The country knows who is the driver and helper of the BJP's tempo of corruption," he said in a post in Hindi on X. "Modi ji, are you a little scared? Normally you talk about Adani and Ambani in closed doors, but for the firs

Court extends Kejriwal's judicial custody till May 20 in excise policy case

Tuesday's hearing comes shortly after the Supreme Court hinted on May 3 that it may consider granting interim bail to Arvind Kejriwal due to the ongoing Lok Sabha elections

Excise policy Case: SC questions ED on probe delay, seeks case files

The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over the "delay" in its probe into the excise policy-linked money laundering case involving Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and asked the agency to produce case files before the arrest of the AAP leader. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta also asked the ED to produce case files before and after the arrest of Delhi's former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who is also an accused in the case. The bench is hearing arguments on Kejriwal's plea challenging his arrest by the ED in the case. It questioned the ED on the time taken to probe the case and noted that the agency has taken two years to unearth something The bench also asked why relevant direct questions were not put to witnesses and accused in the case. Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the ED, said initially Kejriwal was not the focus of the investigation in the case and his role became clear at later stage.

ED arrests J'khand minister's secy, latter's domestic help after cash haul

The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday arrested Jharkhand minister Alamgir Alam's personal secretary Sanjiv Lal and the latter's domestic help following a recovery of over Rs 32 crore cash from them, official sources said. The duo have been taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following their overnight questioning, the sources said. The ED on Monday had raided a 2BHK flat in the city that is allegedly occupied by Lal's domestic help Jehangir, as part of a money laundering investigation into alleged irregularities in the state rural development department, they said. It had recovered over Rs 32 crore cash apart from Rs 3 crore from some other premises that were searched by the central agency. The total cash recovery stands at Rs 35.23 crore, the sources said. Jharkhand rural development minister and Congress leader Alam had denied any wrongdoing on his part.

ED recovers 'unaccounted' cash in raids from Jharkhand minister's aide

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday claimed to have recovered a huge amount of "unaccounted" cash during searches of premises allegedly linked to an aide of a state minister, official sources said. Video footage shared by the sources showed wads of currency notes spread in a room that is alleged to be of the domestic help of the private secretary of rural development minister Alamgir Alam. ED sources said the cash was being counted to ascertain the exact amount. The searches are linked to a money laundering case against the former chief engineer of the rural development department, Virendra K Ram, who was arrested by the ED last year.