Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal sent to judicial custody till April 15 in Liquor Policy Case

Digital Desk: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was remanded to judicial custody until April 15 in the liquor policy case. Kejriwal was requested to be placed in judicial detention for fifteen days by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), citing his alleged "non-cooperative behavior." 

Earlier, on March 28, the Rouse Avenue court ordered Kejriwal to appear by 11:30 am on April 1 to extend his ED remand. This came after Kejriwal was detained by the ED on March 21 about the Delhi liquor policy case, after the Delhi High Court decided to deny him protection from arrest. Kejriwal filed a Supreme Court petition to contest his arrest at first, but he later withdrew it to contest the ED's remand.

 

Kejriwal was then sent to ED custody until March 28 by a Delhi court.

On March 22, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, appearing on behalf of the ED, contended during a hearing held at Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court that Kejriwal was the main conspirator behind the purported anomalies in the discarded Delhi excise policy 2021–2022. Kejriwal, according to Raju, had a direct hand in creating the policy and managing the proceeds of crime. 

Raju provided verifiable proof of purported anomalies in the since-canceled excise policy, implying that the money raised from it was utilized to finance the AAP's 2022 Goa election campaign. Additionally, he said that the hawala channel was used to move the scam's earnings to Goa.

 

Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Kejriwal's defense advocate, contended that other than a few witness comments, there was no concrete proof connecting Kejriwal to the purported irregularities. Using the arrest of four prominent party leaders as evidence, Singhvi further implied that these moves were an attempt to harm the AAP's chances in the approaching elections. According to the grounds for arrest given, he argued, there was no basis for Kejriwal's detention in March 2024.