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The Delhi high court on Friday sought the Enforcement Directorate's stand on a plea by Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh against his arrest in a money laundering case related to alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.
Singh's counsel told Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma that due procedure was not followed when the AAP Rajya Sabha member was arrested by the investigating agency without any prior summons or notice and urged her to call the agency's 'bluff'.
The judge issued notice on the petition and asked the ED to file its response to the petition and listed the matter for hearing on Tuesday morning.
"I am on procedure," the counsel said as he asked the court to seek production of the material with ED in relation to the arrest.
"That they will do," the court said.
A trial court during the day remanded Singh, arrested on October 4, in judicial custody till October 27.
The ED has alleged that Singh played a key role in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped policy, which benefited certain liquor manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, for monetary considerations.
Singh's counsel argued before the high court that arrest of the 'reputed leader' was a 'knee-jerk reaction' as it was done without complying with due process of law and it thus deserved court's 'condemnation' to not only protect his liberty but also set the right precedent.
In spite of a recent Supreme Court saying ED cannot be 'vindictive', the agency continues to 'indulge in what they believe is correct' and making arrests in an 'indiscriminate manner', he said.
"This is high time that their bluff is called and your lordship looks at it from that intent. I wish trial judges, (when) every day arrests are being made in an indiscriminate manner, start probing the material and I think half of the arrests in the country will stop. Only genuine ones will come," the lawyer contended.
He submitted that neither has any role been attributed to Singh in the scheduled offences being probed by the CBI nor has he ever been summoned in the money laundering case but he 'suddenly' the officials came to his house on October 4 and arrested him 'straightaway'.
"No summons issued to me even till today. No notice under PMLA was issued to me. Not a single time was I called for any inquiry or investigation," the lawyer asserted.
It was argued that nothing incriminatory was found in the search carried out in his house and that the top court has ruled that furnishing grounds of arrest to an arrestee in writing was mandatory under PMLA.
The court was also informed that in the present case, the arrest was made on the basis of a statement of approver Dinesh Arora who has 'made eight statements prior to arrest by ED' and gave 'different, improved answers every time'.
"Suddenly he is speaking the language that the agency wants him to speak," Singh's lawyer remarked.
The ED's lawyer asked the court to grant him time to file a response to the petition.
"Today judicial custody is granted...I am entitled to put in a reply. Give me two days," he said.
Singh's petition was listed for hearing after it was mentioned for urgent listing by his lawyer before the high court bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma earlier on Friday.
The ED's money laundering case stems from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) first information report (FIR).
According to the CBI and the ED, irregularities were committed while modifying the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 and undue favours were extended to licence holders.
The Delhi government had implemented the excise policy on November 17, 2021 but scrapped it at the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruption.