NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday upheld the arrest of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the alleged excise policy scam.
Dismissing Kejriwal’s plea, Justice Neena Bansal Krishna stated that the arrest was conducted with a justifiable reason. The HC also disposed of the AAP national convenor’s bail plea, advising him to seek relief from the trial court.
On July 17, the HC reserved its verdict regarding Kejriwal’s arrest by the CBI and on July 29 on bail plea. The court noted that the petitioner (Kejriwal) is not an ordinary person but the chief minister of Delhi and the national convenor of AAP, which has its government in Punjab.
“There were links to this crime even in Punjab, but the material witnesses were not forthcoming for the simple reason of the influence exercised by the petitioner by his position. It was only when he was arrested that the witnesses from Punjab came forth to get their statements recorded, and in fact, two of those witnesses turned approver against the petitioner,” the order read. The court stated that the witnesses could only muster the courage to come forward after his arrest.
Over the bail, it was stated that the petition was filed before the high court but not the chargesheet. The order read, “The chargesheet has already been filed before the Special Judge; it would be in the petitioner’s benefit to first approach the Court of Sessions Judge.”
Kejriwal was taken into CBI custody on June 26 while he was already in judicial custody at Tihar Jail in a money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Arrested by the ED on March 21, Kejriwal was granted bail by the trial court on June 20 in the money laundering case. On July 12, the Supreme Court granted him interim bail after the high court stayed his release.
The case stems from an excise policy that was scrapped in 2022 following the Delhi Lieutenant Governor’s order for a CBI probe into alleged irregularities and corruption in the policy’s formulation and execution.
The CBI and ED have alleged that the modifications to the excise policy involved significant irregularities and undue favours to license holders.