The High Court on Tuesday granted bail to two businessmen Amit Arora and Amandeep Singh in the alleged liquor scam case of Delhi. With this decision of the Delhi High Court, all the accused arrested in the case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have been granted bail. ED arrested Amit Arora on November 29, 2022 and Amandeep Singh on March 1, 2023. He was arrested in a money laundering case. Both the accused have been granted regular bail. Earlier, the High Court granted bail to businessman Sameer Mahendru and Aam Aadmi Party volunteer Chenpreet Singh.
Aam Aadmi Party coordinator Arvind Kejriwal has been granted bail by the Supreme Court in this matter. Before Kejriwal, former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia has got relief. He is also out of jail. The ED registered a case against the accused under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2022.
These accused have been granted bail
1- Abhishek Boinpalli
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On March 20, 2024, a bench of Justices Sanjeev Khanna and Dipankar Dutta granted interim bail to Hyderabad businessman Abhishek Boinpalli in a money laundering case. He was first arrested by the CBI in October, 2022. However, a month later he was granted bail by a Delhi court in the CBI case. This relief was short-lived as the special court at the same time allowed the ED’s plea to detain him for five days.
2- Sanjay Singh
Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh was granted bail on April 2 by a bench of Justices Sanjeev Khanna, Dipankar Dutta and PB Varale. The ED said it had no objection to grant bail to Sanjay Singh based on the specific facts of the case. After this the court ordered his release. Sanjay Singh was arrested on October 4, 2023. The arrest was made from his residence in Delhi.
3- Manish Sisodia
Manish Sisodia has been the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi. He was arrested by the ED on 9 March 2023. On August 9, 2024, a bench of Justices BR Gavi and KV Viswanathan granted bail to former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia in a corruption and money laundering case.
4- K poetry
On August 27, 2024, a bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan granted bail to BRS leader K Kavita in a money laundering and corruption case. Kavita was arrested by the ED on March 15 and has been in custody since then. Kavita is the daughter of former Telangana leader Chandshekhar Rao.
5- Arvind Kejriwal
Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21, 2024. He was granted interim bail on May 10 during the Lok Sabha elections. He surrendered on 1 June. On September 13, Kejriwal got a big relief from the Supreme Court. The court granted him bail. However, the court has placed several conditions.
6- Vijay Nair
On September 2, 2024, a bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice SVN Bhati granted bail to former AAP communication in-charge Vijay Nair in a money laundering case. Nair was in custody for about 23 months.
7- Raghav Magunta
On August 10, 2023, the Delhi High Court granted bail to MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy’s son Raghav Magunta in a money laundering case. Relief came when the ED did not oppose the bail plea and said it was cooperating with the investigation. Raghav Magunta was pardoned by a special court two months later.
8- Sharath Chandra Reddy
On May 8, 2023, the Delhi High Court granted bail to P Sharath Chandra Reddy on medical grounds in a money laundering case. Aurobindo Pharma director Reddy was arrested by the ED in November 2022.
9- Amit Arora
Amit Arora, director of Gurugram-based company Buddy Retail Private Limited, was arrested by the ED on November 29, 2022. He was granted bail on medical grounds till August 30, but on September 17, the High Court granted him regular bail.
10- Amandeep Singh
Amandeep Singh is the Director of Brindco Sales Pvt. He was accused of conspiring with others to bribe AAP. The ED arrested him in March. He was associated with South Group.
11-Benay Babu
Benoy Babu is the regional manager of wine producer Pernod Ricard India. Babu is alleged to have met former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s alleged aide Vijay Nair for the first time on March 27, 2021, when the policy was announced on March 22, 2021.
12- Rajesh Joshi
Rajesh Joshi is the owner of Rath Production Media Pvt. He was arrested in February last year.
13-Gautam Malhotra
Gautam Malhotra is a businessman from Punjab. Gautam is the son of former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA from Faridkot Deep Malhotra, a Punjab-based liquor baron and chairman and managing director (MD) of Oasis Group.
14-Sameer Mahendru
Sameer Mahendru is a well-known liquor businessman of the country. Currently he is the Managing Director of Indospirit Group. This company was started by Mahendru in the year 2006. The headquarters of the company is in Delhi. IndoSpirit is recognized as a leading importer and distributor of liquor and beverages in India. That is, Sameer Mahendrur’s company brings liquor from abroad and sells it in the country.
15-Chanpreet Singh
Chanpreet Singh allegedly managed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) funds for the Goa assembly elections. However, AAP claims that Singh works as a freelancer for various parties. He has also worked for Congress, Trinamool Congress and BJP.
16-Arun Ramachandran Pillai
Pillai is part of the ‘South Group’, a group of South Indian leaders who allegedly sent ‘bribes’ of Rs 100 crore to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders. According to the ED, Pillai is a key figure in south-based liquor manufacturing group Indospirits. He is a liquor dealer based in Hyderabad.
17- Dinesh Arora
Dinesh Arora is a businessman. He is said to be close to Manish Sisodia. Dinesh Arora is a well-known name in the restaurant industry. According to information available on his Instagram profile, he has been involved in the industry since 2009, when he inaugurated his first cafe in Delhi’s Hauj Khas. He has held the position of Managing Director at renowned establishments like Chica Delhi, Unplugged Courtyard and La Rocca Aerocity.
18- Vinod Chauhan
Vinod Chauhan was granted bail by a Delhi court on September 12, 2024. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja granted bail to him. It is alleged that Vinod Chauhan was involved in the transfer of crime proceeds of Rs 25.5 crore. Vinod Chauhan is also accused of allegedly bribing AAP for the Goa elections. It is alleged that he transferred this money through Hawala.
Out of these 18 arrested accused, three Sarathchandra Reddy, Raghav Magunta and Dinesh Arora have become witnesses.
