ED files charge sheet against AAP MP in excise case probe

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday filed a charge sheet against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) parliamentarian Sanjay Singh, 51, as part of its money laundering probe into alleged irregularities in Delhi’s 2021-22 excise policy, people familiar with the development said.

- Neeraj Chauhan

The Rajya Sabha member of Parliament, arrested on October 4 and currently lodged in Tihar, is the second high-profile AAP leader after former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia to be named and arrested in the case.

ED also named Singh’s close aide Sarvesh Mishra in the charge sheet filed before a special judge at Rouse Avenue Court, Delhi. The court will take up the document for consideration on December 4.

“A charge sheet has been filed against Singh within the stipulated 60-days’ time from the date of arrest,” said an officer, adding that this will ensure he does not get a “default bail”. According to the law, if a charge sheet is not filed within 60 days of arrest, the accused is entitled to bail.

This is the fifth supplementary charge sheet filed concerning the money laundering case stemming from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged irregularities in framing and implementing the now-scrapped excise policy. CBI has filed three charge sheets against 16 people.