NEW DELHI: In a surprising turn of events, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday from inside Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court premises, following permission granted by a special judge.
The move came on the day the Supreme Court was scheduled to hear Kejriwal’s plea challenging a Delhi High Court order that had stayed the bail granted to him by a lower court. Following his arrest by the CBI, Kejriwal's lawyer withdrew the plea, which the Supreme Court allowed.
Kejriwal has been arrested and remanded to the agency’s custody for further examination and questioning for three days in connection with the excise policy case, already under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). He is scheduled to be produced before the court again on June 29 at 7 pm.
Already in Tihar Jail due to the ED's investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Kejriwal was brought to the Rouse Avenue Special Court based on a production warrant issued against him.
During the trial court hearing, the CBI argued that Kejriwal's custody was necessary to confront him with documents and conclude the investigation. The CBI also alleged that Kejriwal had shifted responsibility onto former Delhi minister Manish Sisodia, claiming it was Sisodia's idea to privatize.
The CBI claimed that Kejriwal implicated Vijay Nair, former AAP communication-in-charge and an accused in the case, as working under Atishi and Saurabh Bhardwaj.
"The Chief Minister did not take any ministry but has his hand in everything," the CBI lawyer alleged in court.
Kejriwal's counsel Vikram Chaudhari opposed the CBI’s demand, stating he had not been informed about the CBI's application to the court or the order permitting them to question his client.
“The manner in which this has been done is of grave concern. Please allow us access to the documents and defer this hearing to tomorrow... Heavens will not fall if we file a reply,” Kejriwal’s counsel said.
The CBI had taken Kejriwal's statement in jail on June 25 and sought his production before the trial court on Wednesday.
However, CBI counsel DP Singh contended that investigation was the prerogative of the agency and the law does not mandate that the accused should be informed.
“The law does not say that I have to tell them when I want to go and investigate him. The same thing happened in the case of K Kavitha. I only need the court’s permission,” he said.
Shortly after Kejriwal's arrest, his wife Sunita criticized the system, alleging it was preventing her husband from leaving jail, likening it to "dictatorship" and "Emergency."
In a post on X in Hindi, Sunita said her husband got bail on June 20 in the excise policy-linked money laundering case but the ED immediately got a stay. “The very next day, the CBI made him an accused. And today he was arrested. The whole system is trying to ensure that the man does not come out of jail. This is not law. This is dictatorship, this is an emergency,” she said.
Delhi Excise Policy Case:
In November 2021, the Delhi government, under Arvind Kejriwal’s leadership, introduced a new excise policy aimed at modernizing alcohol sales in the city. However, the move received mixed reviews, with concerns raised about potential financial and public health implications.
Subsequently, in July 2022, Delhi’s Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar reported policy violations to Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Vinai Kumar Saxena, who recommended a CBI probe. The report alleged "financial losses to the exchequer" exceeding Rs 580 crore. As a result, the excise policy was scrapped in July 2022.
It's noteworthy that although the CBI was the first agency to register the case, it was the ED that initially arrested Kejriwal.