Excise Policy case: No relief for Kejriwal as HC seeks CBI's response on bail plea

Delhi HC on Arvind Kejriwal CBI arrest

The Delhi High Court on Friday sought CBI’s response to AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal’s bail plea. The court listed the case for hearing on July 17 along with Kejriwal's plea challenging his arrest by the CBI.

Senior advocate AM Singhvi appearing for the Delhi CM said there was no necessity to arrest him. “I am asking for some interim relief, he is not some proclaimed offender or terrorist or flight risk, " said Singhvi.

On June 29, a Delhi court sent Kejriwal to judicial custody till July 12 after the investigating agency said it needed CM’s custody in the "interest of the investigation and justice".

The CBI arrested Kejriwal, who was already in the Tihar Jail in a money-laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), on June 26 to probe the alleged irregularities in the framing of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy of 2021-22. Kejriwal had not been forthcoming with answers, it said.

When he was presented in a court after his arrest on June 26, Kejriwal accused the agency of building a false narrative through media reports that he blamed his former deputy, Manish Sisodia, for the excise policy.

Addressing the court, Kejriwal said he and his party colleagues, including Sisodia, were innocent. The excise policy was aimed at increasing revenue, reducing lines at liquor shops and ensuring equitable distribution. He had only said privatisation was Sisodia's idea, the CM said.

The CBI refuted the claim and said it had not shared any details with the media.