During a hearing on Friday, the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi issued a stern warning to AAP MP Sanjay Singh, cautioning him against giving a “political speech” inside the courtroom. The incident occurred during the money laundering case against the Rajya Sabha MP.
Sanjay Singh had mentioned the name of business tycoon Gautam Adani during the proceedings, which prompted the court to caution him against raising unrelated matters. The judge also stated that if speeches were made, the case would be heard via video conferencing.
The money laundering case is linked to the alleged Delhi liquor scam, and the Enforcement Directorate had produced Sanjay Singh before the court. At the end of the hearing, the Delhi court ordered that Sanjay Singh be sent to judicial custody until October 27.
During the hearing, Singh informed the court that the Enforcement Directorate had not acted on his complaint against Gautam Adani. However, the court was clear in its instructions to focus on the matter at hand.
The hearing was presided over by Special Judge MK Nagpal. Singh’s lawyer requested permission for the politician to carry books authored by freedom fighters and social reformers while in custody, and the court allowed him to do so, following jail rules.
Singh had alleged that during his interrogation, the Enforcement Directorate asked “non-serious and unrelated questions.”
Prior to the court hearing, Singh had criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his relations with industrialist Gautam Adani and questioned when there would be an investigation into the Adani scam. He stated, “Modi ji is not India’s but Adani’s prime minister.”
The Enforcement Directorate has accused Sanjay Singh of playing a key role in the implementation of the Delhi excise policy that was in place at the time.
The liquor policy introduced by the AAP government in Delhi had become problematic for the Delhi Chief Minister after LG Anil Saxena ordered a CBI probe into allegations of corruption. The investigation agency alleged that certain government officials favored liquor traders when granting licenses at the expense of the public exchequer for personal gain.
