Delhi court extends Kejriwal's judicial custody till July 25 in CBI's corruption case

New Delhi: Delhi's Rouse Avenue court has extended Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's judicial custody until July 25 in relation to the CBI's excise policy case. This extension follows hours after the Supreme Court granted interim bail to the AAP leader. Kejriwal, 55, was initially arrested by the CBI on June 26 while already under judicial custody for an Enforcement Directorate (ED) case.

The CBI has identified Kejriwal as a key conspirator in the alleged irregularities of the now-revoked Delhi excise policy. In court, the agency alleged that Vijay Nair, AAP's former media in-charge and close associate of Kejriwal, was in contact with various liquor manufacturers and traders, demanding undue benefits since March 2021 for favorable provisions in the excise policy. According to the CBI's previous chargesheet, AAP received ₹100 crore in kickbacks, with ₹44.45 crore transferred to Goa between June 2021 and January 2022 through hawala channels, reportedly for AAP's assembly election campaign in the state.

On Friday, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Kejriwal in the ED's money laundering case, citing concerns over the right to life and referring the issue of arrest to a larger bench. The Supreme Court framed three questions regarding the authority, necessity, and policy of arrest under section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). AAP leaders Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj, and Sandeep Pathak praised the Supreme Court's decision as a "victory of truth."

Conversely, BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj accused AAP of attempting to mislead Delhi residents. She noted that Kejriwal’s interim bail was granted because a legal point was referred to a larger bench. Swaraj highlighted the ED's detailed chargesheet, which recently named Kejriwal as the "kingpin" of the excise policy scam.