“Want To Clarify…”: Supreme Court On “Making AAP An Accused” Question

New Delhi:

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is seeking legal opinion on whether the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) can be named an accused under money laundering charges relating to the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy.

Hearing bail requests by senior AAP leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, the Supreme Court had yesterday asked the central agency why AAP had not been named an accused, since the ED’s case was that the party benefited from the liquor policy.

“As far as PMLA is concerned, your whole case is that the benefits went to a political party. That political party is still not made an accused or impleaded. How do you answer that? The political party is the beneficiary according to you,” the bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice SV Bhatti said yesterday.

The court had also asked if a cabinet note can be examined by a court of law. “I believe there are specific Constitution bench judgments barring us from examining cabinet notes. I do not know if it applies to Delhi, because it is a Union Territory. Though they have not raised it. Like the issue of how we cannot get into what is said in Parliament, now that has been referred to a larger bench,” Justice Khanna had said.

Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, who is representing ED, will respond to both queries today.

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