Delhi HC Seeks ED’s Stand on AAP Volunteer Chanpreet Rayat’s Bail Plea

The Delhi High Court on Friday requested the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to present its position on the bail application filed by AAP volunteer Chanpreet Singh Rayat, who is implicated in a money laundering case tied to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.

Justice Amit Sharma, presiding over a vacation bench, issued a notice to the ED regarding Rayat’s plea for regular bail and directed the agency to submit a status report. The court scheduled the next hearing for July 2.

Rayat was arrested by the ED on April 12 for allegedly managing cash payments for AAP’s 2022 Goa election campaign. The ED has accused the ‘South Group,’ which includes BRS leader K Kavitha, TDP’s Ongole MP Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy and his son Raghav Magunta, businessman Sarath Chandra Reddy, and others, of paying a Rs 100 crore bribe to AAP to secure a favorable position in the Delhi liquor market under the now-revoked 2021-22 excise policy.

According to the ED, Rs 45 crore of these alleged kickbacks were utilized by AAP to fund its Goa election campaign.

The excise policy was annulled in 2022 following an order by the Delhi lieutenant governor for a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in its formulation and implementation. Currently, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is in judicial custody over the money laundering case, and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia is also in custody for related corruption and money laundering cases.

In July, the trial court granted Rayat bail in the corruption case under investigation by the CBI, noting that he was not involved in the policy’s formulation or implementation.