Relief to 2 bizmen, all ED accused now out on bail

New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted bail to businessmen Amit Arora and Amandeep Singh Dhall in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam, paving the way for the release of all the accused being prosecuted by Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Several key accused, including AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and BRS' K Kavitha, are already out on bail.
Granting the relief, Justice Neena Bansal Krishna relied on Supreme Court's decision granting bail to Sisodia, where it stressed that "bail is the rule and refusal an exception". The court also noted that there were "around 69,000 pages of documents involved in both CBI and ED matters" and "there are 493 witnesses" who had to be examined on behalf of the prosecution, indicating that the trial was likely to take time.
It opined that both Arora and Dhall, who had their respective businesses in the country, had "deep roots in the society" and were not flight risks, and there was no likelihood of tampering with evidence as the same was documentary in nature.
In the same case, it said, the other accused have already been granted bail in similar circumstances. "In the case of Manish Sisodia vs Directorate of Enforcement... Supreme Court observed that prolonged incarceration before being pronounced guilty of an offence should not be permitted to become punishment without trial. It was further observed that the fundamental right of liberty provided under Article 21 of Constitution is superior to statutory restrictions and reiterated the principle that ‘bail is the rule and refusal is an exception'."
Arora is the director of Gurgaon-based Buddy Retail Pvt Ltd and was arrested by ED on Nov 29, 2022. CBI had claimed that he was a close associate of Sisodia and they were actively involved in "managing and diverting" the illicit money collected from liquor licensees.
According to the two central agencies, Dhall, a director of Brindco Sales Private Limited, allegedly conspired with other accused and was "actively" involved in the formulation of the policy and facilitating kickbacks to AAP and its recoupment by South Group through various means.
Dhall was represented by senior advocates Dayan Krishnan and Sidharth Aggarwal and Arora by senior advocate Vikas Pahwa.