Court Upholds ED’s Sanction in Case Against Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: The Rouse Avenue Court on Saturday upheld the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) argument that the sanction obtained in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case is sufficient to cover offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act and related charges. This ruling came in response to a plea filed by Delhi’s former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who had claimed he had not been provided with a copy of the sanction order in the ED case against him.

Kejriwal had argued that the necessary sanction was missing from the documents included in the chargesheet. However, the ED’s Special Counsel clarified that the sanction was comprehensive and applied to offences arising from the same facts. The court accepted this clarification and disposed of Kejriwal’s plea.

This development follows Kejriwal’s earlier challenge to the trial court’s decision to take cognizance of the ED’s chargesheet, asserting that the lack of sanction violated legal procedures. The Delhi High Court had issued a notice on his plea but did not stay the trial proceedings.

The excise policy case, which involves allegations of corruption, kickbacks, and mismanagement of the excise policy, has led to several legal challenges for Kejriwal, who is currently out on bail in both the ED and CBI cases.