Court sends Delhi CM to ED custody till March 28 in liquor policy case

He was produced on Friday before the Rouse Avenue court, which sent him to the ED’s custody till March 28.

A judge of the Rouse Avenue court in the capital on March 22 remanded Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) till March 28 in the alleged excise policy scam case.

Kejriwal will now be produced in the court again on March 28 at 2 pm, wherein it will take a call on whether Kejriwal should continue to remain in custody.

On March 22, the agency produced Kejriwal before the court and sought his custody in the case. "We have given an application for 10 days remand," the ED told the court after the AAP chief was produced before Special Judge Kaveri Baweja around 2 pm amid tight security.

The Delhi CM was produced in the court after withdrawing his petition in the Supreme Court challenging his arrest by ED.

During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, who appeared for ED contended that Kejriwal was the key conspirator in the alleged irregularities in the scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22. Raju said, "He was directly involved in the formulation of the policy and was involved in the handling of proceeds of crime."

ED also contended that Kejriwal did not turn up for enquiry when summons were issued to him and was also non-cooperative, thus sought for his remand.

ASG told the court that there was concrete evidence of alleged irregularities in the excise policy and its proceeds being used to fund the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) election campaign in Goa in 2022. Raju furthermore alleged that the proceeds of the 'scam' were transferred to Goa using 'Hawalas.'

According to the ASG, the proceeds of the crime in addition to the bribes received amounted to over Rs 600 crore.

Also read: Kejriwal's arrest: Details emerge about hawala deals, bribes, WhatsApp chats, secret meetings and more

Kejriwal was represented by three senior lawyers. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who opened the arguments for Kejriwal, argued that there was no direct evidence linking Kejriwal to the alleged irregularities except for some witness statements. He said, "There is no direct evidence except these statements saying I met Mr Kejriwal etc." According to Singhvi, if these witnesses were pardoned they would not name Kejriwal.

Singhvi also said that these attempts were being made to deter AAP's chances in the upcoming elections. "Four senior leaders of his party are arrested. There will be no level playing field," he said. Singhvi also stated that there was no necessity to arrest Kejriwal specifically in March 2024. He said, "In your grounds of arrest, there is no ground to arrest me."

Senior advocate Vikram Chaudari, who also appeared for Kejriwal, argued that it was not for ED to assess whether Kejriwal was cooperating but it was for the court to decide the same. Chauduri also questioned why Kejriwal was arrested after the introduction of the Model Code of Conduct when ED already had evidence against him. Chauduri also argued that ED must 'lift its veil' and show who it represents.

Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 after questioning by Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials in connection with alleged irregularities in the excise policy case. The CM had skipped nine summons before the ED ultimately took him in custody for allegedly not cooperating with the enquiry.

ED's arrest came hours after a two-judge bench of the Delhi High Court refused to grant protection to  Kejriwal against any coercive action by the ED. "We are not inclined to pass such an order at this stage," the court said. The plea is now likely to come up for hearing on April 22 and the court has directed the ED to file a response.