New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition challenging the arrest and detention of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by ED in a money laundering case related to the alleged Excise Policy-2021-22 scam.
A single bench of Justice Swarn Kanta Sharma, while giving its verdict on the petition of Kejriwal, upheld the order of ED arresting him (Kejriwala) and then sending him to the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the directions of the special court in this case. The court refused to interfere in the ED action.
A bench of the High Court said that the documents presented before the court by the ED prima facie show that the accused Kejriwal was involved in a conspiracy to formulate the said excise policy and he had used the income received from this conspiracy.
Kejriwal was involved in formulating liquor policy: Court
The single bench said Kejriwal was personally involved in formulating that policy and was also allegedly involved in demanding bribes.
Earlier on April 3, the High Court had reserved the decision after hearing the arguments of both the parties in detail.
Kejriwal had questioned the timing of his arrest by the central agency. He has alleged that his arrest is a 'violation' of the basic structure of the Constitution including democracy, free and fair elections and equal opportunity. Therefore his arrest should be declared illegal.
Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21. He is still lodged in Tihar jail in judicial custody. Kaveri Baweja's special court had sent him to judicial custody for 15 days on April 1.
The ED has accused Kejriwal of being a key conspirator in illegally gaining crores of rupees through the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-2022 (which was canceled after the controversy).
The CBI had registered a criminal case on August 17, 2022, alleging irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the excise policy for the year 2021-22. On this basis, ED had registered a case of money laundering on 22 August 2022.
The ED claims that top leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party - Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal, former Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia, MP Sanjay Singh and others had hatched a 'conspiracy' to amass illegal earnings.
It is noteworthy that the Supreme Court gave relief to AAP MP Sanjay Singh in this case on April 2. The apex court had allowed him bail and directed the concerned special court to decide the bail conditions. In view of this order, the special court of Kaveri Baweja located at Rouse Avenue had passed the order to release him conditionally from Tihar Jail on April 3. After this, Singh was released on Thursday night.
What did AAP leaders say?
Senior AAP leader and Delhi government minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said in a press conference here, "We respect the High Court as an institution but want to say with respect that we do not agree with its order and will file an appeal against it in the Supreme Court.”
He claimed that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have failed to recover even a single rupee of illegal money in the 'so-called excise policy case'.
Bhardwaj said, “The whole matter is not related to money laundering, rather it is the biggest political conspiracy of the country. This is a conspiracy to crush and destroy Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP government in Delhi and Punjab.”
Bhardwaj said that he hopes that the Supreme Court will give the same relief to Arvind Kejriwal in the case as it had given bail to the party's Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh.
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