The Delhi High Court Monday sought the Enforcement Directorate's stand in Hyderabad businessman's Abhishek Boinpally's bail plea in a money laundering case pertaining to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy. A single judge bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma issued notice to the ED on Boinpally's plea challenging a February 16 order of the special judge which had dismissed his bail plea along with four others, listing the matter in April. Boinpally was arrested by the agency in November last year. The ED had registered a case of money laundering in the matter in the first week of September 2022 based on a CBI FIR against former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and 14 others, The Indian Express had reported. The excise policy was scrapped on July 31, 2022, amid allegations of corruption and irregularities in its drafting and implementation. Boinpally has additionally also challenged his arrest, remand and other illegal proceedings conducted by the ED in a writ petition. The High Court issued notice to the ED on maintainability of the petition. Apart from Boinpally, the special judge dismissed bail petitions of AAP communication in-charge Vijay Nair, Indospirit owner Sameer Mahendru, Aurobindo Pharma director Sarath Reddy and Pernod Ricard General Manager Benoy Babu. The special court had held that all the accused in this case can be “prosecuted in the scheduled offences (ED) case even if none of them happen to be a public servant as they all are alleged to have been a part of the said conspiracy”. On arguments by defence counsel that “individual proceeds of crime being attributed to the accused persons have been shown by the ED on a much higher side and even the amount of losses allegedly suffered by the government exchequer is alleged to be highly exaggerated,” the special court had said, “The same cannot be made a ground to enlarge applicants on bail in this case under the PMLA where serious allegations are found to have been levelled against them of being part of a criminal conspiracy to bribe public servants in politics or otherwise and holding different offices and positions in Delhi”.
