Excise case: Delhi court grants interim bail to businessman Amit Arora

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and BRS leader K Kavitha, among others, are currently in judicial custody in the case.

The judge noted the submissions made by senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, appearing for the accused, that father of the accused's wife had already expired and her mother was stated to be aged around 72 years and a resident of Mohali, Punjab, and her two brothers were residents of Bangalore and London, UK.

The judge further noted that no other family member, cousin etc. stays in the house or even in the proximity and hardly visit the applicant's house in order to take care of the wife and children.

Even otherwise, the extended family members (cousins) cannot compensate for the husband's /father's absence and take good care of the applicant's family members, the judge observed.

"Having considered the submissions made and on going through the record of the case, including the medical documents of the wife of the applicant, the medical condition of his two children, as discussed above and considering the fact that there is no other person either in the family of the applicant or of his wife who could provide the requisite post operative care and support, the application under consideration is allowed," the judge said.

The judge granted the relief on a personal bond of Rs two lakh with one surety of like amount. The judge directed the accused not to leave Delhi NCR unless and until it is necessary in connection with the treatment of his wife.

"He shall not destroy or tamper with the evidence of this case and shall not influence any witness of the case nor he shall even make any attempt to do so. He shall not indulge in any criminal activities or commission of any offence of whatsoever nature and he shall not abuse the interim bail granted to him for any purposes," the judge directed.

Pahwa had submitted that Arora was earlier granted interim bail on similar ground and there is no allegation that he misused the relief. "There is no allegation that he misused the relief. He appeared before the ED whenever he was asked to," Pahwa told the court.

He added that the accused was in custody for over 480 days. Arora was arrested by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on November 29, 2022.

The ED's money laundering case stems from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR.The CBI had claimed that Arora was a close associate of Sisodia and they were actively involved in "managing and diverting" the illicit money collected from liquor licensees.