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Top ED officers say it was mistake to name Singh in the Delhi liquor case
New Delhi: In what could give impetus to AAP’s allegation of the misuse of central agencies, the Enforcement Directorate has admitted that it made a mistake by naming party lawmaker Sanjay Singh in the Delhi liquor case.
On Wednesday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said that the ED admitted its mistake a day after Singh sent an application to the Union finance secretary for sanction to prosecute ED director Sanjay Kumar Mishra and his assistant Jogender.
The financial probe agency admitted its mistake in response to the Rajya Sabha MP’s notices to the top ED officers.
He had earlier sent a notice to the officers seeking apology for mentioning his name in a supplementary chargesheet filed by the agency in the case pertaining to irregularities in the framing and implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22.
In his letter to the Union finance secretary – who the officers report to, Singh on Tuesday said that the notice did not elicit any response from the officers.
He had sought the secretary’s sanction to prosecute the top ED officers for defamation, alleging that they framed him in the Delhi liquor policy case without any basis to damage his reputation.
The Rajya Sabha MP said that he was seeking the grant of sanction against the two ED officers “out of abundant caution.”
He alleged that Mishra and Jogender deliberately and maliciously imputed his involvement in some liquor policy based on an alleged statement dated October 1, 2022 of Dinesh Arora, an accused who has turned witness in the case.
Singh further stated that the “false and derogatory statements” made by the officers have been widely publicized in the media, bringing severe dishonour and disrepute to him.
He has also accused the officers of misusing their position to make untrue and incorrect statements, which has tarnished and blemished his goodwill and reputation, adding that the baseless and unacceptable statements made have affected his political image and his credentials among the masses have also been severely tainted.
Apart from Singh, names of at least three AAP leaders – chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his former deputy Manish Sisodia (arrested), and Raghav Chadha – have found mention in official documents related to the liquor policy case.
The ED’s admission of the mistake serves well to the AAP’s campaign which alleges that central investigative agencies like the ED, the CBI and the NIA have been misused for political purposes.
