The Supreme Court will announce its judgment on Friday regarding Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest and remand by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the excise policy case.
A bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna will deliver the verdict on July 12.
The Supreme Court reserved its decision on Kejriwal’s plea on May 17. During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju told the court that evidence showed money being sent to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) via hawala channels. Raju also mentioned that the ED had discovered chats between Kejriwal and hawala operators concerning the alleged crime proceeds.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, argued that the evidence the ED is now using to justify Kejriwal’s arrest was not available at the time of the arrest.
On May 10, the Supreme Court granted Kejriwal interim bail until June 1 in the money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy. However, the court instructed him not to visit the Chief Minister’s Office or the Delhi Secretariat.
Kejriwal was asked by the court to surrender on June 2, which he complied with.
The Supreme Court’s judgment will address Kejriwal’s appeal against a Delhi High Court decision that dismissed his plea challenging the ED’s arrest and subsequent remand in the excise policy case.
In his appeal to the Supreme Court, Kejriwal argued that his arrest, following the announcement of the General Elections, was “motivated by extraneous considerations.”
On April 9, the Delhi High Court rejected Kejriwal’s plea for release from jail, dismissing his argument of political vendetta ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The court also noted that Kejriwal’s failure to respond to nine ED summons over six months undermined his claim of special privilege as Chief Minister, suggesting that his arrest was a result of his non-cooperation.
Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 as part of a money laundering investigation concerning alleged irregularities in the now-cancelled Delhi excise policy for 2021-22.