Court allows jailed AAP leader Sanjay Singh to take oath as Rajya Sabha member

He is neither permitted to speak to anyone nor to address the media or hold any public meeting, the court has said

A file photo of AAP leader Sanjay Singh. | Photo Credit: PTI

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh will be taken to Parliament on March 19 to enable him to take oath as a Rajya Sabha member.

A Delhi court had last week ordered the Tihar Jail authorities to facilitate the process. Mr Singh has been in jail since October 2023 in connection with a case pertaining to the now scrapped Delhi excise policy.

While travelling to the Parliament, Mr. Singh will not be allowed to use a mobile phone. He is neither permitted to speak to anyone nor to address the press or hold any public meeting, the court said. He can meet his family or lawyer.

Special Judge M.K. Nagpal, on March 16, directed the jail Superintendent to ensure adequate security arrangements for Mr. Singh’s visit to the Parliament. The order came while granting Mr. Singh exemption from personal appearance in the court when the case is listed for hearings.

Mr. Singh is the third senior AAP leader incarcerated for months in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.

In 2022, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had lodged a first information report (FIR) over alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of Delhi’s excise policy. The probe agency has alleged that the excise policy had been modified to extend undue favours to licence holders; licence fees had been waived or reduced; and the L-1 wholesaler licence had been extended without the competent authority’s approval.

The Enforcement Directorate’s probe is based on a case registered by the CBI.