Delhi excise policy: SC dismisses ED's plea against interim bail to businessman Sameer Mahendru

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea of the Enforcement Directorate challenging the six-week interim bail granted to liquor businessman Sameer Mahendru in a money laundering case related to alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Bela M Trivedi told Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the ED, that it is not going to interfere with the order of the Delhi High Court. Raju submitted that the Delhi High Court order is “shocking” and is based on wrong facts and cannot be treated as a precedent. The bench said, “Sorry, for six weeks bail, we are not going to interfere. The period is going to run itself out in the next 10-15 days”. On June 12, the high court had granted six-week interim bail on medical grounds to Mahendru in the money laundering case.   The high court had observed that the accused was suffering from life-threatening diseases warranting immediate medical attention and post-operative care.

Every person has a right to get adequately and effectively treated, it had said.

After the expiry of the interim bail period, he shall surrender before the trial court before or at 5 pm on July 25, it had said.

The court had imposed several conditions, including that he shall not leave the limits of the hospital and his house and shall also not leave the country. According to the prosecution, the accused was allegedly one of the major beneficiaries of the violations of the excise policy as he was not only running an alcoholic beverage manufacturing unit but also given a wholesale licence along with some retail licences in the name of his relatives.

Because of the alleged irregularities and violations, Mahendru made around Rs 50 crore, the prosecution has claimed.

The ED has registered an enforcement case information report (ECIR) against Mahendru under the relevant provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The money laundering case stems from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR.

According to the CBI and the ED, irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy and undue favours were extended to licence holders.

The Delhi government implemented the policy on November 17, 2021, but scrapped it at the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruption.

Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia is also an accused in the matter.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)