1 April 2024 6:19 AM GMT
A Delhi Court on Monday remanded Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to judicial custody till April 15 in the money laundering case related to the alleged liquor policy scam case. He was arrested on the night of March 21.
Special CBI judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Courts passed the order after ED did not seek further remand. "We are asking for judicial custody, subject to the right of asking further custody as per SC judgment in Senthil Balaji case," ED Counsel said.
Kejriwal was produced in court on the expiry of his ED custody. On March 22, the trial court remanded him to six days of ED custody, which was extended by further four days.
About the Case
Kejriwal had skipped nine summons issued to him by ED. Aam Aadmi Party leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh are also accused in the case and are presently in judicial custody.
Following his arrest, Kejriwal had promptly moved an urgent petition before the Supreme Court challenging his arrest. However, the same was withdrawn later.
Moreover, he has previously moved the Delhi High Court (division bench) challenging the summons issued to him by the central probe agency. He has also filed an application seeking interim protection. The matter is fixed for hearing on April 22.
Earlier, ED had filed two criminal complaints against Kejriwal in city's Rouse Avenue Courts alleging non-compliance of the summons by him. Kejriwal has skipped the summons, claiming that they are illegal.
Recently, the Delhi High Court had declined any interim relief to Kejriwal and only issued notice on his plea challenging the arrest and remand.
ED has alleged that Arvind Kejriwal is the "kingpin" of Delhi excise scam and is directly involved in the use of proceeds of crime accounting to over Rs. 100 crores.
It is ED's case that the excise policy was implemented as part of a conspiracy to give wholesale business profit of 12 percent to certain private companies, although such a stipulation was not mentioned in the minutes of meetings of Group of Ministers (GoM).
The Central agency has also claimed that there was a conspiracy that was coordinated by Vijay Nair and other individuals along with South Group to give extraordinary profit margins to wholesalers.
Nair was acting on behalf of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, according to the agency.