Excise case: What the L-G’s recommendation to grant sanction to ED to prosecute Arvind Kejriwal may mean for AAP chief

The development, which comes after the trial court has taken cognisance of the ED chargesheet, will not change Kejriwal’s bail status, and cannot lead to his arrest, legal experts said. The protection granted shall continue.

Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, (CrPC) bars courts from taking cognisance of offences alleged to have been committed by a judge, a magistrate, or a public servant who was “acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty” while committing the alleged offence, unless prior or “previous” sanction has been given by the government.

According to officials, the ED had sought permission on December 5 to prosecute the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convene, writing to Delhi Chief Secretary Dharmendra in his capacity as Chief Vigilance Officer.

On its part, the AAP claimed that there was no such sanction, accusing the ED of callousness in investigating the case in relation to which several senior leaders from the party were jailed, including Kejriwal and his former deputy Manish Sisodia.

Terming it an attempt to “politically malign the AAP government”, the party accused the agency of having “breached every procedural norm” and harassment in the name of investigation.