A Delhi court on Tuesday granted permission to jailed Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh to take oath as a member of the Rajya Sabha for the second consecutive term.
Mr. Singh is in jail since October 2023 after his arrest in connection with the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.
The order was given by Rouse Avenue court special judge M.K. Nagpal while hearing an application filed by Mr. Singh seeking permission to take oath either on February 8 and 9.
This court had previously allowed the jailed MP to visit the Rajya Sabha on February 5 to take oath. He, however, was not allowed to take oath as it was reportedly not listed in the House business for the day.
The court has also given the counsel for the applicant, the liberty to communicate to the Jail Superintendent concerned through email, the date that may be given by the Secretariat of the Rajya Sabha for Mr. Singh’s oath-taking. “....on being so communicated, the Jail Superintendent shall ensure that the applicant is taken to the Rajya Sabha by 10 a.m. on that day and is brought back to the jail safely after administration of oath,” the court said.
The court also allowed his family members and advocates to be present alongside him.
Sources in the Rajya Sabha said that it was on August 11, 2023, that the Upper House passed an order that Mr. Singh will remain suspended till the Privileges Committee submits report and the House takes a decision on that report. A meeting of the committee is yet to be scheduled.
In case the suspension is revoked, then the Rajya Sabha Secretariat will issue summons to Mr. Singh to come and take oath. No summons has been issued to him so far.
Mr. Singh is the third senior AAP leader who is in jail for months in connection with the excise policy case.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had registered an FIR citing irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy of Delhi in 2022. The probe agency has alleged that the excise policy was modified to extend undue favours to licence holders; licence fee was waived or reduced; and L-1 (wholesaler) licence was extended without the competent authority’s approval.
The ED probe is based on the case registered by the CBI.
