Delhi HC Seeks CBI Response To Arvind Kejriwal’s Plea Challenging Arrest In Liquor Scam Case

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• Jul 2, 2024 | Guriya Khatun

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the CBI in the liquor policy case on June 26, following an earlier arrest by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 in connection with a money laundering case stemming from the same liquor policy scam.

Digital Desk: The Delhi High Court has requested the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to respond to a petition filed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal challenging his recent arrest in the Delhi liquor policy case. The case was heard by Justice Neena Bansal Krishna's bench on Tuesday, during which the court directed the CBI to submit its reply within seven days. The next hearing has been scheduled for July 17.

In his plea before the High Court, Arvind Kejriwal raised several key points contesting his arrest by the CBI:

• He argued that he had been summoned by the CBI over a year ago merely as a witness and stressed that no new evidence or rationale for his arrest had been presented by the CBI in their arrest memo or grounds.
• Kejriwal noted that even during his judicial custody, the CBI had failed to present any new material supporting his arrest, emphasizing that all allegations mentioned were already part of previous CBI chargesheets.
• The plea highlighted that the allegations cited by the CBI in the remand application were previously included in the agency's chargesheet.
• He pointed out the absence of justification in the arrest memo for his detention after two years of investigation.

Kejriwal referred to statements made by the Solicitor General (SG) before the Supreme Court in June, where assurances were given regarding the timely filing of the final chargesheet by July 3. He emphasized that during the bail proceedings of his co-accused Manish Sisodia on June 4, the SG explicitly stated that the investigation was nearing its conclusion and no fresh arrests were anticipated.

The plea further mentioned that the SG’s statement did not imply any intention to make fresh arrests. Kejriwal asserted that had such a situation been anticipated, such assurances would not have been made.

Additionally, the plea noted that despite receiving sanction on April 23, the CBI had chosen not to arrest him initially, and had made statements before the Supreme Court suggesting that no further fresh arrests were expected as the investigation was nearing completion.

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the CBI in the liquor policy case on June 26, following an earlier arrest by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 in connection with a money laundering case stemming from the same liquor policy scam.