Arvind Kejriwal sent to Jail until July 12 by Delhi Court, following 3 days of CBI custody

Delhi Court sends Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to Judicial Custody until July 12 in connection to the alleged money laundering case linked to the now scrapped excise policy on Saturday. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had sought 14 days judicial custody after the expiry of his three-day custodial interrogation. However, it did not ask for further police custody at this stage, saying his incarceration was required in the "interest of the investigation and justice".

Senior Advocate Vikram Chuadhari appeared for Kejriwal through Video Call and read the application filed on behalf of Kejriwal seeking direction for the CBI to place on record all material collected, including the case diary. After Enforcement Directorate (ED), that had originally arrested the AAP convener on March 21, CBI had formally shown him arrested on Wednesday after questioning him inside the Tihar jail. This came hours before the Supreme Court was scheduled to hear his petition challenging the Delhi High Court’s interim stay on the bail order given by the trial court on June 20. Following his arrest by CBI, Kejriwal withdrew his plea from the Supreme Court.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has lashed out at the central agencies, accusing them of being vindictive and “stooges” of the Central Government. “Arvind Kejriwal was first kept in police custody and today he has been taken into judicial custody in a false case. Court’s order is not out as of now. We heard CBI’s arguments and they repeated the same imaginary stories which have no relation to the truth. Such stories do not stand in court. INDIA bloc will hold protests and demonstrations in Rajya Sabha on Monday”, said Sanjay Singh, AAP Rajya Sabha MP.  

The Delhi CM on Saturday was allowed to meet his wife and family within the court after the counsel urged the court to permit him till the order is passed. The CBI has filed four charge sheets in the case against 17 accused persons, including Manish Sisodia and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha. Kejriwal has not been named in any of the indictments yet. They claim that out of ₹100 crore received by AAP as kickbacks, ₹44.45 crore was transferred to Goa during June 2021 to January 2022 through ‘hawala channels’ for election campaign purposes, as per media reports.