Liquor policy case: Arvind Kejriwal accuses CBI of building false narrative through media leaks

Arvind Kejriwal denies blaming Manish Sisodia for the excise policy case.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, arrested by the CBI on June 26, has accused the agency of building a false narrative through media reports that he blamed his former deputy, Manish Sisodia, for the excise policy.

The CBI arrested  the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor in the liquor policy case earlier in the day and produced him before Special Judge Amitabh Rawata, seeking his custody for five days.

Addressing the court, Kejriwal said he and his party colleagues, including Sisodia, were innocent. The CBI was trying to build a false narrative through the media that he blamed Sisodia for the excise policy.

The excise policy was aimed at increasing governmental revenue, reduce lines at liquor shops and ensure equitable distribution. He had only said that privatisation was Sisodia's idea, the chief minister said of former Delhi deputy chief minister who has been custody for almost two years now.

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

The CBI argued that it needed Kejriwal's custody to investigate the alleged irregularities in the framing of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy of 2021-22. Kejriwal had not been forthcoming with his answers, it said.

Kejriwal's lawyer said there was no reason to arrest the CM. The CBI could have arrested Kejriwal earlier but it waited until the CM was granted bail by the trial court to arrest him.

"They want to see that I remain in custody. Are these independent agencies or are they playing to gallery? I am saying, if this man was really guilty and deserved to be arrested, why did they not arrest him before," senior advocate Vikram Chaudhary said.

The court is expected to pronounce its order on CBI’s plea later in the evening.

The CBI's arrest came a few hours after Kejriwal withdrew his plea from the Supreme Court against a Delhi High Court order that stayed the regular bail granted to him by a trial court in an excise policy case following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate. He plans to file a fresh plea challenging the stay on the bail.