Vinod Chauhan Granted Bail in Controversial Excise Policy Case

The Rouse Avenue Court granted bail to Vinod Chauhan, arrested in May 2024 by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Excise Policy case accusing him of transferring bribes for AAP via hawala. The court's decision follows several others receiving bail in the contested case.

The Rouse Avenue Court on Thursday granted bail to Vinod Chauhan, who was taken into custody in May 2024 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Excise Policy case. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja announced the order, allowing Chauhan to be released from judicial custody.

The ED's recent supplementary prosecution complaint charged Chauhan with transferring bribes allegedly received by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) through hawala transactions. The agency claims Chauhan was involved in sending money for AAP's Goa election campaign via intermediary Chanpreet Singh and had connections with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Chauhan was arrested in May and has remained in judicial custody since.

Several other accused in the case have recently been granted bail by both the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India. According to ED, Chauhan facilitated the transfer of Rs 25.5 crores out of a total of Rs 45 crores used for AAP's Goa elections. He was arrested at the ED Zonal Office in Goa.

The ED's lawyer argued that Chauhan was well aware the money was linked to the Delhi liquor excise policy scam and stated that he was deeply involved with key conspirators. Allegations include his participation in hawala transfers, cash movements, and acting as a middleman for bureaucrats and politicians. During searches, Rs 1.06 crores was seized from his residence, which the agency claims was intended for AAP leaders.

In the ongoing investigation, the ED and CBI have accused officials of irregularities in modifying the excise policy, extending undue favours to licence holders, waiving or reducing licence fees, and extending licences without proper authority approval. These actions allegedly resulted in the diversion of illegal gains to officials, who falsified their accounts to evade detection. The excise department also allegedly refunded a Rs 30 crore earnest money deposit against regulations, causing an estimated loss of Rs 144.36 crore to the public exchequer. A waiver on tendered licence fees was reportedly allowed from December 28, 2021, to January 27, 2022, citing COVID-19 impacts.

(With inputs from agencies.)