January 15, 2025: In a significant development, the Union Home Ministry has granted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) approval to prosecute Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam.

The approval follows the nod given by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena to prosecute Kejriwal in the case. The ED had approached the Lieutenant Governor last month, asserting that Kejriwal was the “kingpin and key conspirator” in the scam. This development comes in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling from November 2024, which mandated that public servants could not be prosecuted without prior sanction.

The case revolves around accusations of irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy for 2021-22. It is alleged that Kejriwal, Sisodia, and other AAP leaders deliberately created loopholes in the policy to benefit liquor lobbyists in exchange for kickbacks.

Kejriwal was first arrested by the ED in March 2024 on charges of money laundering. Subsequently, in June 2024, he was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a corruption case related to the same policy. After spending months in custody, Kejriwal secured bail from the Supreme Court in September 2024. Shortly after his release, he resigned as Delhi’s Chief Minister, paving the way for senior AAP leader Atishi to take over the position.

Sisodia, who was arrested earlier in 2023, spent 17 months in jail before being released in August 2024. Despite his legal troubles, the AAP has fielded Sisodia as a candidate for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections, scheduled for February 5, 2025. He will contest from the Jangpura constituency, underscoring the party's confidence in its embattled leadership.

The AAP has strongly refuted the allegations, describing them as politically motivated. In response to the latest developments, party leaders accused the central government of using investigative agencies to target opposition leaders ahead of the elections. Kejriwal has also challenged the ED's chargesheet in the Delhi High Court, arguing that it was filed without the necessary prior sanction.

As the case proceeds, it has become a focal point of Delhi’s political discourse. With both legal and electoral battles on the horizon, the fallout from the liquor policy case is expected to influence the state’s political landscape significantly.