Arvind Kejriwal Faces Judicial Custody in Money Laundering Case until April 15

A Delhi Court has ordered the remand of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to judicial custody until April 15 in connection with the alleged money laundering case linked to the purported liquor policy scam. Kejriwal was taken into custody on the evening of March 21.

Special CBI judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Courts issued the ruling after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) opted not to seek an extension of custody. The ED Counsel stated, “We are requesting judicial custody, with the possibility of seeking further custody in accordance with the Supreme Court judgment in the Senthil Balaji case.”

Kejriwal was presented before the court following the conclusion of his ED custody. On March 22, the trial court had initially remanded him to six days of ED custody, which was later extended by an additional four days.

Details of the Case:

Kejriwal had ignored nine summons issued to him by the ED. Additionally, Aam Aadmi Party leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, who are also implicated in the case, are currently in judicial custody.

Following his arrest, Kejriwal swiftly filed an urgent petition before the Supreme Court challenging his detention. However, this petition was later withdrawn.

Furthermore, he had previously approached the Delhi High Court (division bench) to challenge the summonses issued by the central probe agency. He also filed an application seeking interim protection, with the matter scheduled for hearing on April 22.

Earlier, the ED had filed two criminal complaints against Kejriwal in the Rouse Avenue Courts, alleging his failure to comply with the summonses. Kejriwal has contested the legality of these summonses, claiming they are unlawful.

Recently, the Delhi High Court declined to grant interim relief to Kejriwal and only issued a notice regarding his plea challenging the arrest and remand.

The ED alleges that Arvind Kejriwal is the “mastermind” behind the Delhi excise scam and directly participated in the utilization of proceeds totaling over Rs. 100 crores.

According to the ED, the excise policy was implemented as part of a conspiracy to provide certain private companies with a 12 percent wholesale business profit, despite such stipulations not being recorded in the minutes of Group of Ministers (GoM) meetings.

The central agency further asserts that there was a conspiracy orchestrated by Vijay Nair and others, in coordination with the South Group, to afford wholesalers extraordinary profit margins.

Nair purportedly acted on behalf of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, according to the agency.