Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was remanded to three days of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody by the Rouse Avenue Court on Wednesday.
Vacation Judge Amitabh Rawat granted the CBI’s request for custodial interrogation until June 29, 2024. The court has allowed Kejriwal’s wife, Sunita Kejriwal, to meet him for 30 minutes and his lawyer to meet him daily for the same duration during the remand period. The court also permitted Kejriwal to carry his prescribed medicines and consume home-cooked food.
During the hearing, Kejriwal addressed the court directly, vehemently denying allegations that he had made any statements against his former deputy, Manish Sisodia. “Manish Sisodia is innocent, Aam Aadmi Party is innocent. I am also innocent,” Kejriwal said, accusing the CBI of attempting to defame them through media leaks.
The CBI, represented by DP Singh, presented a timeline of events related to the Excise policy, alleging meetings between various individuals involved in the case, including liquor barons and politicians, even before the policy was notified.
Kejriwal’s legal team, led by Senior Advocate Vikram Chaudhari, questioned the timing and necessity of the arrest, given that four charge sheets have already been filed in the case. They argued that the CBI’s claim of evasive replies during interrogation was merely a result of not receiving the admission of guilt they sought.
Yesterday, Kejriwal, in Tihar Jail, recorded his statement related to the Excise Policy case. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in an Excise Policy money laundering case on March 21 this year and is presently in Judicial Custody in the case.
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday stayed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s bail order passed by the trial court, saying that the trial court should have at least recorded its satisfaction with the fulfilment of twin conditions of Section 45 of the Prevention of the Money Laundering Act (PMLA) before passing the impugned order.
The vacation bench of Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain, while passing the order, said that documents and arguments were not appreciated properly by the trial court.
On June 20, the trial judge granted bail to Kejriwal in the money laundering case. The next day, the ED moved an urgent petition before the High Court challenging the bail order. The High Court heard both sides extensively reserve orders on the ED’s application to stay the bail order and it halted the release of Kejriwal until the pronouncement of its order.
(Inputs from ANI)
