The Supreme Court on Monday called for responses from the Centre and the Enforcement Directorate regarding AAP leader Sanjay Singh's plea challenging his arrest and remand in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.
Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti, comprising the bench, issued a notice to the Centre and the ED instructing them to submit their responses by December 11.
The bench further directed that if Singh submits a petition for regular bail in the meantime, it should be considered independently of the observations made in the Delhi High Court's judgment dated October 20.
Singh was arrested on October 4 in connection with the case and had approached the Supreme Court to contest the High Court's decision. The High Court, in its order, had declined to intervene in his arrest, stating that it could not attribute a political motive to a premier investigating agency without sufficient material on record.
It had also said that Singh's was not a "prima facie case of no evidence at all".
The ED's money laundering case stems from the Central Bureau of Investigation FIR.
According to the CBI and the ED, irregularities were committed while modifying the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 and undue favours were extended to licence holders.
It is alleged that Singh played a key role in the formulation and implementation of the policy, which benefited certain liquor manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, for monetary considerations.
After his arrest, the trial court had sent Singh to ED custody. On October 13, he was sent to judicial custody till October 27.
