Delhi excise 'scam': Court takes cognisance of ED’s supplementary charge sheet

A Delhi court on Thursday took cognisance of a supplementary charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against five individuals and seven companies in connection with the alleged Delhi excise scam.

Special Judge M K Nagpal issued production warrants against the accused persons -- Vijay Nair, P Sarath Chandra Reddy, Benoy Babu, Abhishek Boinpally and Amit Arora -- for February 23, noting that they are currently in judicial custody.

He also directed the representatives of the accused companies -- Trident Chemphar Ltd, Sri Avantika Contractors (I) Pvt Ltd, Organomix Ecosystems Pvt Ltd, Pernod Ricard India Pvt Ltd, KSJM Spirits LLP, Buddy Retail (TI) Pvt Ltd and Popular Spirits Pvt Ltd – to appear before the court on the next date.

"This court is of the considered opinion that there are sufficient grounds and material to proceed further in the matter against all the twelve accused being prosecuted through this supplementary complaint as they all, either directly or indirectly, are found to have attempted to or indulged in or knowingly assisted or have been a party to or actually involved in the process or activities connected with proceeds of crime generated through the above scheduled offences case, including its concealment, possession, acquisition, use and projection or claiming it to be untainted properties,” the judge said.

He noted that the ED case was based on a CBI FIR, and Deputy Chief Minister and Excise Minister Manish Sisodia, and 14 other persons/entities were specifically named as accused in that FIR, which included some other public servants of the Excise Department of GNCTD.

It was alleged that they all, along with some other unidentified and unnamed persons/entities, were part of a criminal conspiracy hatched during the period while the above excise policy was still at formulation stage and in furtherance of illegal objects of the said conspiracy, some loopholes were intentionally left or created in the policy.

The loopholes were meant to be exploited later on to achieve the said illegal objects of the conspiracy and to favour some licensees and conspirators in the post bid period, the CBI alleged.

The ED, however, has not named Sisodia as accused in the charge sheet, and told the judge that further investigation is going on in the mater.