Latest news with #DelhiExcisePolicy2021-22
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘Can't risk violating privacy': court denies permission to Delhi excise policy case accused to inspect digital devices of co-accused
Citing privacy concerns, a Delhi court Saturday rejected a plea moved by an accused in the corruption case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam to inspect the digital devices of two other co-accused. The court pointed out that such an 'attempt to conduct a parallel investigation' could not be allowed. The court was hearing a plea by Amandeep Singh Dhall, who is accused of conspiring in formulating the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, to inspect the digital devices of co-accused Sameer Mahendru and Arun R Pillai. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is investigating the case, had found nothing incriminating in them, and both the co-accused objected to Dhall's demand. 'No such parallel investigation should be allowed by any accused, as this would otherwise lead to an endless cycle of such proceedings. After all, every accused in a criminal trial claims that he was prejudiced by an unfair investigation concerning him and by the omission of facts that may have favoured him,' said Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh in his order. 'Requesting inspection without a specific or justified reason, or simply hoping to find something useful, amounts to a fishing expedition. Such a broad, unfocused search without clear limits or scope amounts to a roving inquiry. It not only wastes the court's time but also risks violating privacy rights and could amount to harassment or oppression of the device owners,' the judge added. 'The reason accused 9 (Dhall) inspects others' devices is to find something that he can use to build his defence. If he is not planning to use any content from those devices, then why does he need to see them? The purpose of inspecting the devices is to find evidence that can be used to support his defence, which poses a serious risk to accused 5 (Mahendru), accused 7 (Pillai) and others,' the court said. Just because the two accused and others voluntarily disclosed their passwords to the investigating agency, they cannot be compelled to reveal them again for Dhall or anyone else, the court noted. It added that courts had to be 'especially cautious when digital devices containing sensitive, private or personal data' are examined and that such an inspection, which could violate privacy, can not be considered an 'unfettered right'. The court was dealing with a question of the fundamental rights—the right to privacy and the right to a fair trial—of two sets of people conflicting with each other. 'Since the CBI could not find anything related to the dispute in those devices, allowing a parallel inquiry would be equivalent to conducting a separate trial for each device, which could be extremely risky for a criminal court to undertake. No such pre-trial inquiry should be permitted,' the court stated. The CBI arrested Dhall in April 2023. The Delhi High Court granted Dhall bail in the money laundering case related to the alleged scam in September 2024, and later, the Supreme Court in October 2024 granted him bail in the CBI case.
New Indian Express
29-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Delhi excise policy case: Arvind Kejriwal moves court seeking NOC for passport renewal
NEW DELHI: Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, an accused in the Delhi excise policy case, moved court on Thursday seeking a no objection certificate (NOC) for the renewal of his passport. Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh issued notice to Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and sought their replies by June 4, the next date of hearing. Kejriwal's counsel told the court that his passport expired in 2018 and he has moved the application seeking its renewal for 10 years. The CBI, meanwhile, told the judge that it is ready for arguments on framing of charges in the corruption case related to the alleged excise policy scam. While the corruption case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 is being probed by the CBI, a money laundering case is being investigated by the ED. The money laundering case stems from the CBI's FIR which was lodged after Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena recommended a probe into the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the policy. According to the CBI and the ED, irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy and undue favours were extended to the licence holders. The Delhi government implemented the policy on November 17, 2021, and scrapped it by the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruption.
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Business Standard
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Delhi excise policy case: Arvind Kejriwal seeks NOC for passport renewal
Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, an accused in the Delhi excise policy case, moved court on Thursday seeking a no objection certificate (NOC) for the renewal of his passport. Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh issued notice to Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and sought their replies by June 4, the next date of hearing. Kejriwal's counsel told the court that his passport expired in 2018 and he has moved the application seeking its renewal for 10 years. The CBI, meanwhile, told the judge that it is ready for arguments on framing of charges in the corruption case related to the alleged excise policy scam. While the corruption case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 is being probed by the CBI, a money laundering case is being investigated by the ED. The money laundering case stems from the CBI's FIR which was lodged after Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena recommended a probe into the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the policy. According to the CBI and the ED, irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy and undue favours were extended to the licence holders. The Delhi government implemented the policy on November 17, 2021, and scrapped it by the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruption. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Time of India
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Delhi excise policy case: Arvind Kejriwal moves court seeking no objection certificate for passport renewal
Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal , an accused in the Delhi excise policy case , moved court on Thursday seeking a no objection certificate ( NOC ) for the renewal of his passport. Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh issued notice to Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI ) and sought their replies by June 4, the next date of hearing. Kejriwal's counsel told the court that his passport expired in 2018 and he has moved the application seeking its renewal for 10 years. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Les seniors à Canihuel paient €31,83 par mois pour leur mutuelle grâce à cette loi En savoir plus Undo The CBI, meanwhile, told the judge that it is ready for arguments on framing of charges in the corruption case related to the alleged excise policy scam . Also Read: Communal politics practised by mainstream parties root cause of all problems: Kejriwal Live Events While the corruption case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 is being probed by the CBI, a money laundering case is being investigated by the ED. The money laundering case stems from the CBI's FIR which was lodged after Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena recommended a probe into the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the policy. According to the CBI and the ED, irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy and undue favours were extended to the licence holders. The Delhi government implemented the policy on November 17, 2021, and scrapped it by the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruption.
Time of India
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Delhi excise policy case: Arvind Kejriwal moves court seeking NOC for passport renewal; ED, CBI asked to respond by June 4
Arvind Kejriwal, an accused in the Delhi excise policy scam, has applied to a Delhi court for an NOC to renew his passport, which expired in 2018, seeking a 10-year renewal. The court has sought responses from the ED and CBI by June 4. NEW DELHI: Former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, an accused in the Delhi excise policy scam, on Thursday approached a city court seeking a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the renewal of his passport. Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh issued notices to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), asking them to respond by June 4, the next date of hearing. Kejriwal's counsel informed the court that his passport had expired in 2018, and the AAP chief was seeking a 10-year renewal. CBI ready for arguments on charge framing Meanwhile, the CBI told the court it is prepared to argue on the framing of charges in the corruption case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. While the CBI is probing the corruption angle, the ED is investigating the money laundering charges arising from the same FIR. The case stems from a complaint filed after Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena recommended a probe into alleged irregularities in the implementation of the excise policy. According to investigators, undue favours were extended to liquor licence holders through changes made in the policy. The Delhi government had implemented the new excise regime in November 2021, but it was rolled back in September 2022 following allegations of corruption.
