The Rouse Avenue Court will take up the chargesheet against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and others on August 29, as filed by the CBI in connection with the Delhi liquor policy scam. The court granted the CBI an additional 15 days to obtain necessary permissions to proceed with the case. During the recent hearing, the CBI informed the court that it had not yet received the required permission, leading the court to set the next hearing date.
The CBI’s fifth and final chargesheet names Rajendra Nagar AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak, businessmen P Sharat Chandra Reddy, Vinod Chauhan, Amit Arora, and Ashish Mathur as accused. Durgesh Pathak oversaw the Goa Assembly elections in 2022, while Sharat Reddy, now a government witness in the ED’s parallel investigation, has been pardoned. The chargesheet accuses 23 individuals, including former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and K Kavita, under the Prevention of Corruption Act, criminal conspiracy, and fraud.
In a supplementary chargesheet, the ED has accused 38 people in the liquor policy case, with Arvind Kejriwal listed as accused number 37 and the Aam Aadmi Party as accused number 38. The chargesheet, referencing Sharad Reddy’s statement, claims that Kejriwal and Sisodia demanded money for the Goa and Punjab assembly elections, altering their stance towards Reddy after he refused.
The chargesheet portrays Kejriwal as the kingpin and conspirator, alleging his involvement in using bribe money for the Goa elections. It includes details of WhatsApp conversations between Kejriwal and accused Vinod Chauhan, indicating Chauhan’s close relationship with the Chief Minister. According to the ED, K Kavita’s PA sent Rs 25.5 crore to the Aam Aadmi Party through Chauhan for the Goa elections.
The chargesheet further details how screenshots of hawala note numbers were recovered from Chauhan’s mobile, showing how he transferred illicit funds from Delhi to Goa. These funds were managed by Chanpreet Singh in Goa, with evidence of conversations between Chauhan and Abhishek Bon Pillai about the hawala transactions. The ED also recorded a statement from Ashok Kaushik, who delivered two bags of cash to Chauhan on Pillai’s instructions.
