Delhi High Court has dealt a blow to Arvind Kejriwal’s petition against the arrest of Enforcement Directorate in the liquor scam case. At present, the hearing on the petition has been postponed. Kejriwal was arrested on 21 March.
The hearing on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea against his arrest by the High Court Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the trial court’s order sending him to ED custody in the Delhi Excise Policy case has been postponed.
The Enforcement Directorate has sought more time from the High Court to file its reply on Chief Minister Kejriwal’s petition challenging the arrest. Senior lawyer Singhvi gave this information in Delhi High Court.
ED had claimed that Kejriwal was the main conspirator in the Delhi Excise Policy scam case. The ED’s money laundering investigation in the matter was initiated by a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on August 17, 2022, in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy for 2021-22.
ED’s request for time to file reply to Kejriwal’s challenge to arrest in excise case a delay tactic: Sr advocate Singhvi tells Delhi HC
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 27, 2024
The CBI case was registered on July 20, 2022, on a complaint made by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena. It has been alleged that a criminal conspiracy was hatched by AAP leaders including former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and other unknown and unnamed private persons/entities at the stage of formulation of the policy.
It is alleged that the conspiracy involved intentionally leaving or creating loopholes in the policy. These loopholes were allegedly meant to benefit some liquor licensees and conspirators after the tender process. Sisodia and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh are already in jail in this case. On March 15, 2024, the ED had also arrested Bharat Rashtra Samithi MLA and K. Kavitha, daughter of former Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, in the case.
