<p>The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has granted permission to the Enforcement Directorate to prosecute former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia in the alleged money laundering case related to the Delhi liquor scam, ministry sources said. Last November, the Supreme Court had ordered that permission from the authority would be required to prosecute a public servant.</p>
<p>The ED had accused Arvind Kejriwal of being the “mastermind” in the alleged liquor scam. Described him as a “conspirator and kingpin”, the ED had filed a chargesheet against Arvind Kejriwal. Kejriwal approached the Delhi High Court and requested a stay on the cognizance of the chargesheet.</p>
<p>The ED had arrested Arvind Kejriwal, then Chief Minister of Delhi, on March 21, 2024, and filed a charge sheet against him, the Aam Aadmi Party, and others in May. The ED’s chargesheet alleged the involvement of Kejriwal as well as Manish Sisodia in the scam. According to the investigating agency, Kejriwal and Sisodia made changes to the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, for which an alleged bribe of Rs 100 crore was doled out.</p>
<p>After the Covid-19 pandemic, a new excise policy was introduced in Delhi in November 2022. This was gave liquor contracts to private companies in Delhi. When the policy of the Delhi government was strongly opposed in July 2022, L-G VK Saxena handed over the investigation to the CBI.</p>
<p>Both Kejriwal and Sisodia were arrested and have been released on bail.</p>
<h2><strong>Arvind Kejriwal To File Delhi Election Nomination Today</strong></h2>
<p>If the ED manages to prosecute Kejriwal again, it could spell trouble for the Aam Aadmi Party ahead of the Delhi election 2025. Arvind Kejriwal got bail from the Supreme Court on two sureties of Rs 10 lakh. Additionally, the court imposed several restrictions on him.</p>
<p>The assembly elections are going to be held in Delhi on February 5. Arvind Kejriwal is slated to file his nomination for the Delhi Assembly election on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Kejriwal will be accompanied by women supporters, said sources. He will visit the Valmiki and Hanuman temples in Delhi before filing his nomination. Kejriwal will contest his New Delhi seat against the BJP’s Parvesh Verma and the Congress’s Sandeep Dikshit.</p>
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