Excise policy PMLA case: Delhi Court sends Arvind Kejriwal to Judicial Custody till April 15

The Rouse Avenue Court Money sent Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to judicial custody till April 15 in an alleged money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy case.

The Rouse Avenue Court on Monday sent Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to judicial custody till April 15 in an alleged money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy case. The Enforcement Directorate, while seeking direction to send Kejriwal to judicial custody, said the arrestee has even given false and contrary evidence vis-a-vis other members of the AAP. When he was confronted with the statements given by his party leaders, he called them confused.

Arvind Kejriwal first says that ND Gupta is an active member of the party, is a member of the PAC (Political Affairs Committee) and knows the party's functioning but when confronted with the statement of N D Gupta, wherein he reveals that the National Convenor takes such decisions, Arvind Kejriwal calls the National Treasurer confused. On being asked about the extent of interaction and reporting of Vijay Nair to the arrestee, he stated that Vijay Nair didn't report to him but to Aatishi Marlena and Saurav Bharadwaj and his interaction with Vijay Nair was limited, said ED.

Having noted the submissions, Special Judge Kaveri Baweja on Monday decided to send Kejriwal to judicial custody until April 15. Meanwhile, the Court directed Tihar Jail authorities to allow Kejriwal to carry prescribed medicine and books. The court also asked authorities to provide one table and chair, a religious locket and a special diet as prescribed by the doctors, as per the jail manual.

Kejriwal, through his lawyers, moved an application and sought permission to carry several books, including Bagwad Geeta, Ramayana and a book titled "How Prime Minister Decided", authored by Neerja Chaudhary During the hearing, Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj, and Gopal Rai remain present in the courtroom. Arvind Kejriwal's wife also attended the court proceedings.

Senior Advocate Ramesh Gupta and Advocates Rajat Bharadwaj, Mudit Jain, Mohd Irshad and Vivek Jain appeared for Arvind Kejriwal, while ASG SV Raju, along with Zoheb Hossain, Naveen Kumar Matta and Simon Benjamin, appeared for the Enforcement Directorate. Earlier, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appeared for Arvind Kejriwal and submitted that a sitting CM was arrested one week ago during the Model Code of Conduct. The heart of democracy is a level playing field and a free and fair election: If you do something to disrupt the level playing field, you hit the heart of democracy. My prayer is to be released now because the foundation of my arrest is flawed. This is my interim prayer.

Arvind Kejriwal, through his plea, alleged that the DOE has, at the time of arrest, failed to establish that the petitioner is guilty of committing activities stipulated under Section 3, i.e., be it concealment, possession, acquisition, or use of proceeds of crime, as much as projecting it as untainted property or claiming it to be so. The fact that the petitioner/Kejriwal was arrested without any interrogation or questioning shows that the present proceedings of arrest are pre-meditated and nothing but an act of political vendetta to skew the balance and level-playing field in the 2024 general election, stated his lawyer.

Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate about the excise policy case and has spent 10 days in ED custody, after court direction. Earlier, the agency claimed that Kejriwal was directly involved in the formation of the excise policy.

"Arvind Kejriwal has also been intrinsically involved in the entire conspiracy of the Delhi liquor scam, wherein the policy was drafted and implemented in a manner wherein certain private persons were favoured and benefitted in a quid pro quo of receiving kickbacks," the central agency said in its remand. Kejriwal was arrested by the central agency on charges of corruption in the case. It is the first time in independent India that a serving Chief Minister has been arrested. The move came after Kejriwal skipped multiple summonses by the investigation agency, nine in total, calling them "illegal.".

The case pertains to alleged irregularities and money laundering in framing and implementing the Delhi Excise Policy 2022, which was later scrapped. While Kejriwal was not named in the FIRs registered by the ED or the Central Bureau of Investigation in the Delhi excise policy case, his name first found a mention in the ED's chargesheet, wherein the agency claimed that he allegedly spoke to one of the main accused, Sameer Mahendru, in a video call and asked him to continue working with co-accused and AAP communications-in-charge Vijay Nair.

Nair was among the first people to be arrested by the CBI in the case, in 2022. Subsequently, former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh were arrested in connection with the case. (ANI)

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