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Synopsis

A Delhi Court on Thursday remanded Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh to Directorate of Enforcement (ED) custody till Monday i.e. October 10, in a money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy scam. 

Special Judge MK Nagpal of Rouse Avenue Court passed the order. 

ED in its application had sought 10-day custody of Singh.

Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) NK Matta submitted that there was a transaction of Rs. 200 crore, in two tranches and it had been delivered to Singh. The same was confirmed by Dinesh Arora (accused, who turned approver). He also submitted that searches were conducted yesterday and statements had also been recorded. "A total of 239 places were searched and documents have been found. We have to confront him with digital evidence", he added.

Opposing the custody sought by ED, Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur, on behalf of Singh contended, "These are those interesting cases where the investigation will go on and never end. Dinesh Arora's credibility is so incredible. He was accused in both the cases (CBI& ED) and later turned approver. My lords may ask them how many times he was summoned. The answer is Nil".

Mathur argued that the Supreme Court has now said that you can't have a person in custody and then have these Section 50 statements under PMLA. "For first eight instances, you don't speak the truth and then, suddenly you start taking names. Only to secure my own liberty, I start taking names. Let's not make a mockery of the system", he contended. 

"Regarding the MoU, the information was with them for nine and half months. This so-called unsigned MoU. At that point, the issue was keeping Mr. Sisodia inside so all these statements came in March and April. At that point, they didn't think it was necessary. Dinesh Arora was with them for four years", he argued. 

The Senior Advocate further argued, "Harsh Sahani's judgment still stands good, that for the purpose of confrontation, you don't need custody. The Prosecution should not just say that we want to confront him with 239 searches and digital evidence. 10 days is an absurd proposition for someone who was not involved at all. The case was about liquor policy, he had nothing to do with it". 

Mathur added that if the arrest is not in conformity with the law, it becomes "illegal".

Singh was arrested on Wednesday by the ED in the money laundering case. According to reports, Singh was taken into custody after day-long searches on his residence. This is the third high-profile arrest in the case. 

The AAP MP was arrested a day after, a Delhi Court allowed Raghav Magunta son of YSR Congress MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy and businessman Dinesh Arora, both accused in the case to "turn approvers".

In the Prosecution complaint filed by the ED, Sanjay Singh's name appears in a statement by Arora. 

Arora and Magunta were arrested by the agency earlier this year and are out on bail. Besides the two, businessman and AAP's communication in-charge Vijay Nair was also arrested in September 2022, and former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia was arrested in February, this year.