New Delhi, India: Delhi’s Rouse Avenue court has extended the judicial custody of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal until July 25 in connection with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case concerning the Delhi excise policy.
The extension follows the Supreme Court’s earlier decision to grant the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor interim bail. Kejriwal, 55, was initially arrested by the CBI on June 26 while already in judicial custody for a related Enforcement Directorate (ED) case. The CBI has labeled Kejriwal as a key conspirator in the alleged irregularities of the now-defunct excise policy.
The agency contends that Vijay Nair, former media in-charge of AAP and close associate of Kejriwal, was in contact with various liquor manufacturers and traders. Nair is accused of soliciting undue gratifications since March 2021 to include favorable provisions in the excise policy. The CBI’s previous chargesheet alleges that out of ₹100 crore in kickbacks received by AAP, ₹44.45 crore was funneled to Goa between June 2021 and January 2022 through ‘hawala channels’ for the party’s assembly poll campaign.
Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court granted Kejriwal interim bail in the ED’s money laundering case against him. The court emphasized the matter’s connection to the right to life and the ongoing legal debate over the necessity of arrests under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), prompting his release on interim bail. The court has posed three significant questions regarding the ED’s power and policy of arrests under the PMLA, which have been referred to a larger bench.
AAP leaders Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj, and Sandeep Pathak hailed the Supreme Court decision as a “victory of truth.”
Conversely, BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj accused the AAP of attempting to “misguide” the public. “Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has been granted interim bail only because one point of law has been referred to the larger bench. A few days ago, the ED presented a detailed chargesheet in front of the court, which identifies Kejriwal as the kingpin of the excise policy scam,” Swaraj stated.
