The Rouse Avenue Court on Tuesday extended the judicial custody of CM Arvind Kejriwal in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise scam till May 20, 2024.
Kaveri Baweja, the Special Judge for CBI and ED, has extended Kejriwal’s custody till May 20 following his appearance before the court via video-conference upon the expiration of his previous custody.
The judge also extended the judicial custody of co-accused Chanpreet Singh until May 20.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has alleged that the AAP leader was involved in the “entire conspiracy of Delhi liquor scam, in drafting and implementation of the policy, for favouring and benefiting from the quid pro, receiving kickbacks and eventually using part of proceeds of crime generated out of the scheduled offence in the campaign for Goa Assembly elections.”
In the meantime, Kejriwal’s request for temporary release is now being heard by the Supreme Court.
On the evening of March 21, Kejriwal was taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The Delhi High Court denied Kejriwal’s appeal on April 10 contesting his detention, noting that the ED had sufficient evidence, as well as statements from supporters and the AAP candidate, to indicate that Kejriwal received funding for the Goa elections.
The Chief Minister of Delhi has filed a case before the Supreme Court against the aforementioned ruling issued by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma’s Delhi High Court panel. His petition is being heard by the Supreme Court today.
Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, two prominent AAP members, are also charged in the ED case. Sisodia is still behind bars, while Singh was recently granted bail by the Supreme Court as a result of an ED concession.
The ED claims that Arvind Kejriwal is the “kingpin” of the Delhi excise scam and is directly engaged in the use of criminal gains totaling more than Rs. 100 crore.
According to ED, the excise policy was imposed as part of a scheme to offer some private enterprises a 12 percent wholesale business profit, despite the fact that such a provision was not included in Group of Ministers (GoM) meeting minutes.
The Central Agency has also stated that Vijay Nair and other persons, together with the South Group, conspired to provide wholesalers with huge profit margins.
Nair was operating on behalf of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, according to the agency.