Arvind Kejriwal’s plea: On March 21, Arvind Kejriwal was taken into custody in connection with a money laundering case involving the now-repeated alcohol policy in Delhi.
Less than seven weeks before the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s appeal against his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate will be heard in the Supreme Court today. Kejriwal, from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was arrested on March 21 in connection with a money laundering case related to Delhi’s former liquor policy, which has since been revoked.
This comes after Mr. Kejriwal was refused relief on Tuesday by the Delhi High Court. The government investigating agency produced data to imply that he had allegedly plotted to draft the policy and was involved in seeking claimed bribes of ₹ 100 crore, the high court stated, rejecting his petition.
The AAP leader went to the Supreme Court the day following the decision to seek redress. He was unable to secure a quick hearing, though. The court was thereafter closed for the weekend and Eid. Around 10.30 am today, a bench consisting of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta will hear the Chief Minister’s case.
In his appeal against the high court decision, Mr. Kejriwal argues that his arrest right after the announcement of the Lok Sabha polls was driven by ulterior motives. The appeal highlights that arresting a sitting Chief Minister in the middle of an election period was done with biased intentions.
Mr. Kejriwal stated that his arrest represents a severe attack on democratic principles, particularly the concepts of free and fair elections and federalism.
The Delhi Chief Minister is the third high-ranking AAP leader to be taken into custody in this case after he disregarded several summonses. Prior to this, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and his erstwhile deputy Manish Sisodia were detained in connection with the matter. Right now, Mr. Singh is free on bond.
The Enforcement Directorate‘s investigation into money laundering stems from a 2022 case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which concerns alleged irregularities in the excise policy. The CBI initiated the case based on a complaint filed by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena.
While crafting the liquor policy, senior AAP officials are accused of hatching a criminal conspiracy and purposefully leaving loopholes to benefit some licensees. Nine months after it was put into effect, the liquor policy was removed due to political unrest and corruption accusations.
The AAP has refused the accusations against its leaders and emphasized that during the raids conducted by the Enforcement Directorate, officials did not uncover any illicit funds.
Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj has stated, “They are talking about crores. But ED and CBI have not found even a rupee of illegal money. Witnesses have been pressured to change their statements and say what ED wants them to.” He further added, “This is not about money laundering. This is the biggest political conspiracy in India’s history.”
