Excise policy scam: SC issues notice to ED on Vijay Nair’s bail plea

New Delhi, August 12 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the ED on a plea filed by AAP's former communications in-charge Vijay Nair seeking bail in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.

A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S.V.N. Bhatti asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file its reply on Nair’s bail plea by August 20.

In a brief hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Nair, cited a recent Supreme Court decision wherein it allowed bail pleas of senior AAP leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in cases being probed by the CBI as well as the ED on the ground of delay in commencement of trial.

Singhvi said that Nair, who has been granted bail in a corruption case but remains in custody in an ED case, suffered incarceration of nearly two years and completion of trial would take more time.

In July last year, a bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma of the Delhi High Court had denied Nair bail. He had moved the Delhi HC challenging a trial court order rejecting his bail application.

Observing that the "allegations are quite serious", Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court had denied bail to Nair and four others – Sameer Mahendru, Abhishek Boinpally, Sarath Chandra Reddy, and Benoy Babu. 

The trial court held that there was enough incriminating evidence to show the entire "modus operandi" adopted by the accused persons for the commission of offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

On the allegations and the role of Nair, it said: "Though he was only the media and communication in-charge of AAP, it has been revealed during the investigation that he was actually representing the AAP and GNCTD in different meetings that took place with the stakeholders of liquor business at different places.

"His participation in the meetings in this capacity is to be viewed in light of the facts that he was residing in the official accommodation allotted to a senior Minister of AAP, and once he was even alleged to have represented himself as an OSD in the Excise Department of GNCTD. Further, none from the government or AAP officially participated in these meetings."