AAP named as accused in Delhi liquor policy case: Is it ‘political party’ or 'company'? Here is what the law says
Delhi excise policy case, according to a report in legal news website Live Law. The Aam Aadmi Party, borne out of an anti-corruption campaign in 2012, becomes the first political party in India to be charged in a criminal case.
During the hearing in a case related to the liquor policy on Friday, the Additional Solicitor General of India is reported to have informed the Supreme Court that a prosecution complaint “is being filed" on Friday and the AAP has been made an accused in the case. Also Read: AAP made accused in Delhi excise policy case: Report The Supreme Court was hearing a plea filed by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, challenging his arrest in the money laundering case registered against him by the ED in connection with the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.
Kejriwal, who was arrested in the case in March this year, is out on interim bail until June 1. What does the law say about a political party, and which laws govern it, when it becomes an accused in a money laundering case? A political party is defined under Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act (RPA), 1951.
According to this definition, any association or group of Indian citizens can register as a political party, subject to specific guidelines. Article 324 describes powers of superintendence, direction and control of elections to be vested in an Election Commission.
And Section 29A of the RPA mandates that any association intending to register as a political party has to register itself with the Election Commission of India. Also Read: ‘Tiger is back’: How Arvind Kejriwal’s bail alters Lok Sabha poll campaign dynamics in Delhi and beyond “Any association or body of individual citizens of India calling
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