New Delhi [India], January 19 (ANI): The Rouse Avenue Court on Thursday dismissed the interim bail application moved by Amit Arora, Director of Buddy Retail Pvt Ltd., who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection to a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi Excise Policy scam.

The Special Judge MK Nagpal on Thursday said the present application seeking interim bail of the accused Amit Arora is being dismissed with observations that the applicant shall be at liberty to move it again as and when the date for surgery of his wife for removal of gallbladder stones is taken after the requisite tests, if any, from the concerned hospital.

Court further said that keeping in view the totality of facts and circumstances and in the considered opinion of this court, the interests of justice require that the wife of the applicant should first plan the above surgery and obtain a date for surgery from the hospital in which she intends to undergo the surgery and only then this court can consider the request of the applicant for grant of interim bail to him on the ground of said surgery.

The court further noted that it emerges out from the medical record of the wife of the applicant that though she requires surgery for the removal of gallbladder stones, but as per the verification report obtained by the Investigation Officer from the concerned doctors, the surgery of the patient is not an emergent procedure and it has to be planned and this planning for surgery is required to be made as early as possible.

Earlier ED's special public Prosecutor Naveen Kumar Matta earlier had told the court that, on the basis of the investigation conducted so far indicating that Amit Arora is actually involved in the activity connected to the acquisition, possession and use of proceeds of crime and therefore, Amit Arora is guilty of the offence of money laundering.

Arora's name is mentioned both in the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation cases as accused along with Dinesh Arora, another director of Buddy Retail Pvt Ltd. Other accused named are Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, the then Excise Commissioner Arva Gopi Krishna, Deputy Commissioner Anand Tiwari and Assistant Commissioner Pankaj Bhatnagar.

Manoj Rai, a former employee of Pernod Ricard; Amandeep Dhal, director of Brindco Sales; authorised signatories of Mahadev Liquors Sunny Marwah, Arun Ramchandra Pillai and Arjun Pandey are some more accused in the case.

The CBI inquiry was recommended on the findings of the Delhi chief secretary's report filed in July 2022 showing prima facie violations of the GNCTD Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR)-1993, Delhi Excise Act-2009, and Delhi Excise Rules-2010, officials had said.

A total of six people have been arrested by the ED in this case till now.

The ED and the CBI had alleged that irregularities were committed while modifying the Excise Policy, undue favours were extended to licence holders, the licence fee was waived or reduced and the L-1 licence was extended without the competent authority's approval. The beneficiaries diverted "illegal" gains to the accused officials and made false entries in their books of account to evade detection. (ANI)