SC adjourns hearing on Vijay Nair's bail plea in excise policy case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned hearing on the bail plea of former Aam Aadmi Party communication in-charge Vijay Nair in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.

A bench of justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti deferred the matter after the counsel for the ED sought a weeks' time for filing a counter affidavit.

"Reluctantly, time prayed for is granted," the bench said.

The top court had issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on August 12 on the plea of Nair while noting that he has been in custody for two years.

Appearing for Nair, senior advocates Abhishek Singhvi and Vikram Chaudhary submitted before the court on August 12 that he was arrested on November 13, 2022, and he has challenged the trial court's July 29 order dismissing his default bail plea.

Earlier, on July 3 last year, the high court refused to grant bail to Nair and other co-accused in the money laundering case.

The money laundering case stems from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR lodged after Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena recommended a probe into the excise policy 2021-22 which was later scrapped.

The CBI has alleged that Nair met some other co-accused, liquor manufacturers and distributors at various hotels in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi for arranging "ill-gotten money through hawala operators" that was given to the AAP as a kickback in return for favours.

It was also claimed that businessman and co-accused Abhishek Boinpally was part of the meetings and was involved in the conspiracy to launder money along with another accused liquor businessman Sameer Mahendru.

The ED had raided nearly three dozen locations in Delhi and Punjab following the arrest of Mahendru, the managing director of liquor distributor Indospirit Group, which is based in Delhi's Jor Bagh.

The other accused in the case are former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, former excise commissioner Arva Gopi Krishna, ex-deputy commissioner in the excise department Anand Tiwari and former assistant commissioner Pankaj Bhatnagar.

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

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