Sat Dec 21 07:16:59 UTC 2024: ## ED Gets Green Light to Prosecute Kejriwal in Liquor Scam

**New Delhi** – Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal faces renewed legal pressure as Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena has approved the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) request to prosecute him in a money laundering case linked to the controversial 2021-22 liquor policy. The sanction, sources revealed, comes ahead of crucial Delhi state elections, posing a significant challenge to Kejriwal following the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) setbacks in the recent Lok Sabha elections.

The ED had previously filed a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case against Kejriwal, but the trial was stalled pending the Lieutenant Governor’s approval, mandated by a Supreme Court ruling. Kejriwal was arrested in March and later granted bail in September. He subsequently resigned as Chief Minister, pledging a return only after a renewed electoral mandate in 2025.

The ED alleges that Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also faced arrest and imprisonment in the case, orchestrated changes to the liquor policy to benefit a South-based lobby in exchange for a ₹100 crore bribe. The agency claims ₹45 crore of this was used for AAP’s Goa election campaign. Both Kejriwal and Sisodia have been named as the masterminds of the alleged scam in the ED’s chargesheet, a document Kejriwal is currently challenging in the Delhi High Court. The court issued a notice to the ED yesterday in response to Kejriwal’s appeal. Sisodia was granted bail in August after spending 18 months in jail. The upcoming prosecution represents a significant escalation in the ongoing investigation.

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