Excise policy case: Delhi court extends Sanjay Singh's judicial custody till Jan 10

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Thursday extended judicial custody of AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh in connection with a money laundering case connected to the now-scrapped excise policy case.

Special Judge M K Nagpal extended Singh's judicial custody and asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to provide a copy of its fifth supplementary charge sheet and related documents to the accused.

During the proceedings, the ED's counsel sought time to supply the prosecution complaint and previous complaints, citing an ongoing issue regarding the identity of one prosecution witness before the witness protection committee.

The protected witness is currently referred to as 'Alpha' in the supplementary complaint.

The court has directed that copies of all previous charge sheets, relevant documents, and the fifth prosecution complaint with pseudonymous names be provided to Singh's counsel by December 23.

The next hearing is scheduled for January 10, and Singh's judicial custody has been extended until then.

On December 12, the court had reserved its judgment on Singh's bail plea and scheduled a pronouncement for December 21, following an extensive hearing involving arguments from both sides.

On December 19, the court had taken cognisance of the charge sheet, issued Singh's production warrant for Thursday.

Singh has claimed that he was not a flight risk and there was no allegation against him of influencing the witnesses. He had urged the court that he should be granted bail since he has deep roots in society and that "for 15 months there was no allegation of my interfering or influencing in the probe by either the ED or the CBI."

Senior advocate Mohit Mathur, appearing for Singh, had said that since the supplementary charge sheet against Singh has already been filed, there was some kind of finality regarding the collection of evidence which should be the basis for granting him bail.

The counsel had said Singh was neither an accused, and was never arrested, or chargesheeted in the predicate offence (the alleged corruption in the excise scam) being probed by the CBI, and that he was not even summoned by the CBI in the corruption case.

His name did not appear in any of the supplementary charge sheets filed by the ED before his arrest, Mathur had further claimed.

"Now they are saying I received kickbacks, but ED did not say a single word about this money before this court or superior courts in matters pertaining to co-accused Manish Sisodia, when they produced a flow-chart of money allegedly being laundered," the counsel, on behalf of Singh, had said. Earlier, the judge had allowed Singh to sign some documents related to development work as an MP.

Judge Nagpal had also allowed Singh to sign certain cheques as he requested to do so for his family expenses, and other work he is obliged to do as an MP. The concerned jail authorities were directed to ensure proper treatment to Singh, including from his private doctor.

"Court sees no reason to refuse private treatment to the accused. Hence, the jail superintendent concerned is directed to ensure the appropriate treatment," the judge had said. Singh, who had moved the Delhi High Court against his arrest and remand, was denied any relief as Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma dismissed his plea, calling it premature.

He then moved the Supreme Court against the High Court order that upheld his arrest and remand by the ED. On October 13, Singh had told Judge Nagpal that the ED had become an 'entertainment department'.

The judge had then directed him not to discuss unrelated matters or give speeches inside the court, or he would ask for his production through video conferencing from now on.

The financial probe agency on October 4 arrested Singh after carrying out searches at his residence in the North Avenue area.