New Delhi/IBNS: The Enforcement Directorate has received the nod from the union home ministry to prosecute former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his ex-deputy Manish Sisodia in the alleged money laundering scam linked to the Delhi liquor policy case, media reports said.

The home ministry approved after Delhi Lt governor VK Saxena sanctioned the prosecution.

The approval will pave the way for the ED to frame charges against Kejriwal and Sisodia, the chief and senior leader of Aam Aadmi Party respectively, ahead of the February 5 Delhi assembly elections.

In November last year, the Supreme Court had asked the ED to secure permission before prosecuting public servants.

If charges are framed and trial begins, it would be tougher for Kejriwal to return as the chief minister, the post from which he resigned last year.

The Supreme Court in September 2024 granted bail to Kejriwal, who was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the excise policy case.

Kejriwal was arrested by the CBI in June 2024 when he was already in Tihar Jail in connection with the same case.

The AAP supremo has been in jail since March 21, 2024 when he was arrested by the ED over money laundering allegations while framing the Delhi liquor policy for 2021-22, which was later scrapped after the Lieutenant Governor raised red flags.

The ED has alleged the money Kejriwal got from the liquor sellers was used to fund the party's campaign in Goa since he is the convenor of the AAP.