Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal being brought to Rouse Avenue Court by CBI in connection with the Excise policy case, in New Delhi
| Photo Credit: ANI

The Delhi High Court on July 5 asked the CBI to respond to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s bail plea in the corruption case registered by the CBI in connection with the alleged excise policy scam.

Justice Neena Bansal Krishna issued a notice to the CBI on the bail plea and listed it for further hearing on July 17.

Arvind Kejriwal hearing highlights

Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, said the AAP leader is not a flight risk and not a terrorist and the CBI arrested him after he got bail in the ED’s money laundering case.

Advocate DP Singh, appearing for the CBI, raised objection over Kejriwal directly approaching the HC without first filing the bail plea before the trial court.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener was arrested by the CBI on June 26 from Tihar Jail, where he is still lodged in judicial custody in a connected money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Mr. Kejriwal, who was arrested by the ED on March 21, was granted bail by the trial court in the money laundering case on June 20. However, the trial court’s order was stayed by the high court.

The excise policy was scrapped in 2022 after the Delhi lieutenant governor ordered a CBI probe into alleged irregularities and corruption involving the formulation and execution of the policy.

According to the CBI and the ED, irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy and undue favours extended to the licence holders.

New Delhi:

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wants to join the investigations of the Enforcement Directorate and cooperate with the agency but has appealed to the high court that coercive action not be taken against him, Delhi minister Atishi said today.

Atishi said that Arvind Kejriwal has approached the Delhi High Court, alleging that the ED wanted to arrest him.

“Delhi CM Kejriwal wants to join the ED investigation and cooperate with the agency. But, we believe that the ED is not an independent agency. It does not want to conduct investigation. It is a political tool of the BJP,” Atishi claimed.

“The ED wants to arrest Arvind Kejriwal by summoning him. If the intentions of the ED are clear, the agency should say in the court that Arvind Kejriwal will not be arrested by it,” she said.

The probe agency’s aim is to arrest Arvind Kejriwal and stop him from campaigning for Lok Sabha polls, the Delhi minister alleged.

Arvind Kejriwal has so far skipped multiple summonses regarding a money laundering probe linked to an alleged excise policy scam.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)