Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s judicial custody extended till May 7 in liquor policy scam case

A Delhi Court today extended the judicial custody of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal till May 7 in a money laundering case related to the alleged liquor policy scam.

Delhi Rouse Avenue Court, Special Judge Kaveri Baweja passed the order. Special Judge Baweja ordered Arvind Kejriwal to be produced before the Court on May 7 at 2PM through video conferencing.

CM Arvind Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on allegations that he was the key conspirator in the money laundering case registered in the matter. The Chief Minister was arrested hours after his plea for interim protection from arrest was rejected by the Delhi High Court.

Earlier on March 22, Arvind Kejriwal was produced by the ED before judge Baweja, who initially remanded the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader to ED custody till March 28.  Later on March 28, Arvind Kejriwal’s ED custody was extended further. On April 1, Arvind Kejriwal was remanded to judicial custody till April 15. The remand was then extended till today.

The Enforcement Directorate’s money laundering probe stems from a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on August 17, 2022 in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy for 2021-22. The CBI case was lodged on a complaint made by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on July 20, 2022. 

Furthermore, it has been alleged that a criminal conspiracy was hatched by AAP leaders, including former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and other unidentified and unnamed private persons/entities during the stage of the policy’s formulation.

Multiple AAP leaders including former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and MP Sanjay Singh were arrested by the ED in connection with the case. Sanjay Singh got bail from the Supreme Court on April 2.

Previously, the Delhi High Court rejected CM Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest by the central agency and the trial court order remanding him to ED custody. The High Court upheld the subsequent remand orders passed by the Court including the order through which the AAP national convenor was sent to judicial custody.