ED Seeks Delhi High Court Intervention Over Judicial Overreach in Excise Policy Case

The Enforcement Directorate has petitioned the Delhi High Court to remove trial court remarks from its money laundering probe linked to the 2021 Delhi excise policy. The agency claims these comments, made during the discharge of Arvind Kejriwal and others, constitute judicial overreach and violate principles of justice.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has petitioned the Delhi High Court to expunge remarks made by a trial court in its investigation of the excise policy case. These remarks came as the court discharged former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and others, prompting the ED to allege judicial overreach.

The ED described the order, issued on February 27, as a case of judicial overreach, arguing that the trial court neither evaluated the agency's evidence nor allowed it to present its case before issuing the contentious remarks. The trial court's decision came amid separate investigations by the CBI and the ED into possible irregularities in the AAP government's 2021 excise policy.

The agency, invoking several Supreme Court judgments, stated that its observations in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case are independent of the CBI's predicate offence. Stressing the independence of its PMLA investigation, the ED has requested the court strike down comments perceived as prejudicial to its process.

(With inputs from agencies.)