Delhi excise policy case: Raghav Chadha's name mentioned in ED's supplementary chargesheet; AAP leader reacts

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• May 2, 2023 | Dhupali Das

Aam Aami Party Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha's name has been mentioned in the Enforcement Directorate's...

Digital Desk: Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha's name has been mentioned in the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) additional chargesheet in the money laundering case regarding the alleged Delhi liquor excise policy scam. Chadha has not been listed as an accuser in the case. In response to various media reports, Chadha issued a statement clarifying that he has not been identified as an accused in the case.

"...at Deputy CM Manish Sisodia's house, there was a meeting of Raghav Chadha, ACS Finance of Punjab Govt, Excise Commissioner, Varun Roojam, FCT, and officers from Punjab Excise, where Vijay Nair was also present," reported ANI, citing a statement.

This is the only mention of him in the chargesheet, which was accepted by the court on Monday.

"News articles and reports claiming that I have been listed as a defendant in a complaint lodged by the enforcement directorate are absolutely erroneous and incorrect and appear to be a part of malicious propaganda to destroy my reputation and credibility," Chadha said in a statement.

"I have not been mentioned as a defendant or even a suspect in any of the enforcement directorate's complaints. In the aforementioned complaints, I am not the subject of any accusations. Although the justification for making such an allegation is unclear, it appears that my name is mentioned in the complaint as having attended some meetings. I adamantly and categorically deny having committed any claimed crime in connection with the aforementioned meeting or in any other way. I ask the media and publication houses not to cause any inaccurate reporting and clarify this problem, or else I will be forced to take legal action," he added. 

The Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi took notice of two prosecution cases submitted by the ED in the money laundering case on Monday.

Arun Ramchandra Pillai, Rajesh Joshi, Amandeep Dhal, Gautam Malhotra, Raghav Magunta, and others were named in the prosecution complaints.

The special judge, MK Nagpal, took notice of the chargesheets (prosecution complaints) and ordered all the accused to appear on May 10, 2023.

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The court informed the ED that further investigation into the role of the accused name in ECIR and other persons on various charges is ongoing.

ED was represented by lawyers Zohaib Hossain and Naveen Kumar Matta. The ED stated that there was enough evidence on record to charge these suspects with money laundering.

Earlier, the first supplementary chargesheet mentioned 12 defendants, including Vijay Nair, Sharath Reddy, Binoy Babu, Abhishek Boinpally, Amit Arora, and seven companies. In the case against Sameer Mahendru and his linked entities, the ED filed the first chargesheet.

The ED has yet to file a chargesheet against Manish Sisodia, who was arrested on March 9, 2023.

According to the ED and the CBI, irregularities were committed while altering the excise policy, excessive advantages were offered to licence holders, the licencing price was waived or decreased, and the L-1 licence was extended without the approval of the relevant authority. To avoid detection, the recipients shifted "illegal" income to the accused authorities and made fake entries in their books of accounts.

The FIR in the case was initiated on the proposal of Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena and on the recommendation of the Union Home Ministry.