Image Credits - NDTV
The Enforcement Directorate has brought Delhi’s Chief Minister and head of the Aam Aadmi Party, Arvind Kejriwal, before a magistrate at the Rouse Avenue Court. This is to seek Kejriwal’s custody related to the alleged irregularities in Delhi’s excise policy case.
The excise policy refers to the guidelines around the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages in Delhi. Kejriwal is being investigated for potential violations or misconduct in the formulation and implementation of this policy by his government. The Enforcement Directorate, India’s financial crime-fighting agency, has accused Kejriwal of wrongdoing and wants to interrogate him while in custody.
The court proceedings will determine if the agency can take Kejriwal into custodial remand for further questioning about his alleged role in financial malpractices in the excise policy case.
The Enforcement Directorate’s request for custody of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is being heard by Special Judge Kaveri Baweja. Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on Thursday after raids were conducted late at night at his residence the same day. His arrest comes after the Delhi High Court denied him interim protection from being taken into custody in relation to the excise policy case.
The special court will now decide whether to remand Kejriwal to the ED’s custody for a defined period to allow interrogation of the chief minister about his exact role and culpability in the alleged excise policy scam that purportedly caused huge losses to the Delhi government’s exchequer.
A division bench comprising Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Manoj Jain of the Delhi High Court refused to grant any interim protection from arrest to Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy case. Subsequently, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at the Delhi Chief Minister’s residence and eventually arrested him.
Kejriwal had initially challenged his arrest in the Supreme Court but later withdrew that petition. The ED’s money laundering probe stems from a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in August 2022 over alleged irregularities in the formulation of Delhi’s Excise Policy for 2021-22.
The CBI filed the case based on a complaint by the Lieutenant Governor, VK Saxena, in July 2022. It has been alleged that Aam Aadmi Party leaders like Kejriwal and former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, along with others, conspired to intentionally create loopholes in the excise policy to unduly favour certain liquor licensees post the tender process.
Sisodia and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh are already in jail custody in this case. On March 15, 2024, the ED made another arrest – that of K Kavitha, daughter of former Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao, over her alleged involvement in the same excise policy scam.
