Excise Policy Case: Arvind Kejriwal Sent To 14-Day Judicial Custody

A Delhi court on Saturday ordered Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to judicial custody until July 12 in connection with corruption charges related to alleged irregularities in the 2021-22 excise policy.

Kejriwal was arrested by the CBI on June 26 and initially placed in CBI custody for three days.

Photo Credit: PTI

At the time of this arrest, Kejriwal was already in judicial custody concerning a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

During the hearing, Senior Advocate Vikram Chaudhary, representing Kejriwal, requested the court to direct the CBI to present all the investigation materials.

"Kejriwal was arrested in March 2024. He was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court. On the last date of the hearing, they (CBI) had said that they collected evidence in January, they said that they had in April obtained the sanctions. They also said that they had not arrested me earlier because they did not want to overreach the Supreme Court," Chaudhary told the court.

"They (CBI) have also made a statement before the Supreme Court that they will conclude the investigation by July 3...I am praying please ask the IO (Investigation officer) that whatever they are saying, your lordships may pin them down," he added.

The CBI has filed four charge sheets in the case, implicating 17 individuals, including Manish Sisodia and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha.

Although Kejriwal has not been named in any indictments, the CBI alleges that Rs 100 crore received by AAP as kickbacks included Rs 44.45 crore transferred to Goa for election campaigns through 'hawala channels' from June 2021 to January 2022.