Delhi Chief Minister and AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal will continue to remain in jail. Notably, the Supreme Court on Monday (15th April) refused to grant him relief in connection with his petition challenging the ED arrest and remand in the Delhi Liquor Policy scam case. In a separate legal development in this case, Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court extended his judicial custody till 23rd April.
Rouse Avenue Court of Delhi extends the Judicial custody of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal till April 23, 2024, in the Excise Policy money laundering case. pic.twitter.com/a2ibBvmpVo
— ANI (@ANI) April 15, 2024
Kejriwal has approached the Supreme Court to challenge the Delhi High Court order that had upheld his arrest in the case. On Monday, a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta issued notice to the ED on his plea and asked the probing agency to file its reply by 24th April. The matter would be now heard in the week commencing 29th April.
The bench directed, “Issue notice. Returnable on April 24. Notice is accepted by the respondent who are presented in court on caveat. Reply to be filed on or before April 24 and rejoinder on or before April 27.”
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal had sought an early date in this matter. He lamented, “I want to show some facts, to shock the conscience of the court. There are some selective leaks.”
Linking Kejriwal’s arrest with the upcoming election, Singhvi claimed, “I am asking for an extremely short date, possibly this Friday, for a reason. This is a very unusual matter. Not because he is a Chief Minister. There are two documents, FIR and ECIR and eight chargesheets, between the CBI and the ED. This petitioner is not named. Point number 2- the story starts from September 2022. He is arrested on March 21, 2024. Between that time, there are 16 statements, 10 by one person, Sarath Reddy and six by others. All 15 statements do not state the above. One statement becomes positive….the object of arrest, post the model code of conduct, is to disable me from campaigning.”
Appearing for the ED, Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta objected to this argument.
Meanwhile, the bench declined Singhvi’s request for an earlier hearing date stating that it has given the shortest possible date. Additionally, Justice Khanna asked Singhvi to “reserve the arguments” for the next date.
The development so far
On 9th April, the Delhi High Court came down hard on Delhi CM Kejriwal in connection with a plea challenging his arrest by the ED in the Delhi Liquor Policy scam. Making grave observations against the involvement of CM Kejriwal, the Delhi HC said the evidence shows he conspired and was actively involved in the use and proceeds of the crime.
Upholding his arrest by ED, the High Court had said that the ED was left with “little option” after he skipped repeated summons and refused to join the investigation.
The court ruled, “The evidence gathered by the ED indicates that Mr Arvind Kejriwal conspired and played an active role in the utilization and concealment of proceeds of crime. The ED’s case also suggests his involvement both in a personal capacity and as the convenor of AAP.”
The Delhi HC also dismissed the defendant’s aspersions over the statements of the approver considered in the case. The court noted, “The law of approver is over 100 years old and not one year old. it cannot be suggested that it was enacted to implicate the present petitioner (Kejriwal), says Delhi HC it reads out the verdict.”
“The investigating agency in criminal jurisprudence cannot be instructed to conduct an investigation based on the convenience of an individual. The investigation will proceed according to its own course,” the court said in the plea filed by Kejriwal.
The court said it won’t lay down different categories of laws, one for common citizens and another for granting special privileges to a Chief Minister.
Kejriwal is currently in judicial custody till 23rd April following Delhi Court’s extension of his remand. He was produced virtually before Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Courts on the expiry of his judicial custody.
The Court said it is extending custody till April 23 when judicial custody of the co-accused (BRS leader K Kavitha) is also ending.
Meanwhile, Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on 21st March in connection with a money laundering probe relating to alleged irregularities in the now-cancelled Delhi excise policy 2021-22.
