New Delhi: The Delhi High Court is set to hear Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea on Tuesday, challenging his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the alleged excise policy scam. The petition, filed on Monday, has been listed before Justice Neena Bansal Krishna.
In a related development, the Delhi High Court dismissed the bail pleas of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha in two cases linked to the alleged liquor scam. The court stated that Kavitha was prima facie one of the main conspirators in the criminal conspiracy related to the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22.
Kejriwal, the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was arrested by the CBI on June 26 from Tihar jail, where he was already in judicial custody in a related money-laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The CM has also contested the trial court’s June 26 order that remanded him to CBI custody for three days.
On June 29, the trial court sent Kejriwal to judicial custody until July 12, citing his name as one of the main conspirators in the ongoing investigation. The CBI had claimed before the court that Kejriwal did not cooperate with the investigation and deliberately provided evasive responses. The agency also expressed concerns that he might influence witnesses.
The trial court, while sending Kejriwal to CBI custody, refused to declare his arrest illegal, stating that “the timing may be circumspect but it is not the clear criterion for declaring an arrest illegal.” The court emphasised that while investigation is the prerogative of the investigating agency, there are legal safeguards in place.
This case is part of the broader investigation into the Delhi excise policy, which was scrapped in 2022 after the Delhi lieutenant governor ordered a CBI probe into alleged irregularities and corruption in its formulation and execution.