Big relief for AAP: Supreme Court grants bail to Sanjay Singh in Delhi excise policy case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the release of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh on bail due to the pending nature of trial in a money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy case. 

Sanjay Singh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in October 2024 after searches at his residence in Delhi.

The top court ordered Singh's release after the ED said that it has no objection regarding the same. "Nothing has been recovered, there is no trace," the top court was quoted as saying by LiveLaw.

The three-judge bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Dipankar Dutta and PB Varale said Singh would be entitled to undertake political activities while being out on bail. The top court further mentioned that the order will not be treated as a precedent. 

Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing on behalf of the ED, said that the central agency will make a concession in the bail matter without getting into the merits. 

The ED noted that it did not object to granting bail to the AAP Rajya Sabha MP during the pendency of proceedings following an investigation report under sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). 

The ED accused that an employee of businessman Dinesh Arora delivered Rs 2 crore to Singh's house on two occasions. Sanjay Singh was arrested after accusations by Arora, who turned approver in both the ED and the CBI cases. The central agency claims that it had digital evidence to confront Singh.

After Sanjay Singh got bail, his lawyer Rishikesh Kumar said that the AAP MP has been granted bail because the Enforcement Directorate (ED) did not argue their case at all. 

"Sanjay Singh has been granted bail. The most astonishing factor is that Sanjay Singh has been granted bail because the ED did not argue their case at all and conceded on the bail because it was all apparent during the hearing and it was made clear by the judges before lunch that against Sanjay Singh, there is no credible material, to make a case against him... ED has conceded before the court," Kumar said. 

Earlier in the day, AAP leader and Delhi minister Atishi Marlena claimed that the BJP is planning to put the party's next line of leadership in jail. She adds the BJP is nervous that despite senior AAP leaders being behind bars, the party is running strong. 

"The BJP feels that despite Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, and Satyendra Jain being in jail, the Aam Aadmi Party is still united and strong. Now, they are planning to put the next line of leadership of the Aam Aadmi Party in jail," Atishi said. 

Commenting on Sanjay Singh's bail, AAP leader Raghav Chadha said that this is an emotional day for every party worker. Chadha said: "Today is a very emotional day for every Aam Aadmi Party worker. There is happiness today with the release of our lion Sanjay Singh which cannot be expressed in words. Jai Bajrang Bali!"