Excise policy case: Delhi HC to decide soon on bail pleas of 3 accused

The Delhi High Court on Friday reserved verdict on the bail plea of businessman Amit Arora, one of the accused in the Delhi excise policy case.

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. (Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)

The Delhi High Court is likely to decide soon on the bail pleas of three accused in the Delhi excise policy case. A single-judge bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna on Friday reserved the verdict on the bail plea of one of the accused, businessman Amit Arora, and said, “I will be wrapping up the bail matters within 8-10 days.”

Apart from Arora, Justice Krishna’s bench is dealing with the bail pleas of accused Vijay Nair and Sameer Mahendru. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is also an accused in the Delhi excise policy case.

Justice Krishna on Friday further extended the interim bail of Arora, the director of Buddy Retail Pvt Ltd who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Arora has been out on interim bail since August 12 following an order by a special judge of the trial court. The high court had further extended the interim bail on August 21, which shall now continue until a final decision on his main bail matter.

The ED has accused Nair, the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP’s) communication in-charge, of being a middleman between the ‘South Group’, which allegedly gave Rs 100 crore as kickbacks to enter the liquor retail segment in the national capital, and the party. He has also been accused of laundering money received as kickbacks during AAP’s Goa Assembly poll campaign.

According to the probe, Nair, in collusion with co-accused Dinesh and Amit Arora, allegedly arm-twisted a few wholesalers to surrender their L-1 licences and then coerced manufacturers to choose wholesalers of his choice. Nair’s bail plea has been reserved for judgment.

Meanwhile, the ED has claimed Mahendru is the ‘kingpin’ of the excise policy, alleging that he “used proxy/ dummy persons to conceal the real owner of his businesses”. Mahendru had a 35 per cent partnership stake in Indospirit LLP, which got a wholesale L-1 licence. He also obtained two retail zone licences under the name of Khao Gali Restaurants which is under the name of his father-in-law, the central agency said. The ED alleged Mahendru was directly or indirectly controlling manufacturing, wholesale and retail businesses in violation of the excise policy.

Sohini Ghosh

Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court Professional Profile Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express. Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare). Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others. She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020. With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles: High-Profile Case Coverage She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots. She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy. Signature Style Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system. X (Twitter): @thanda_ghosh ... Read More

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