New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Wednesday in the excise policy case for alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the policy for 2021-22.
Kejriwal has been in judicial custody since his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in March. He was questioned by the CBI officials Tuesday at Tihar jail, where he has been lodged, and produced in the Rouse Avenue Court after it issued a production warrant against the Aam Aadmi Party national convenor.
Kejriwal’s formal arrest by CBI came hours before the Supreme Court was set to hear his plea against the Delhi High Court order that had stayed the bail granted by the lower court. He has now dropped the plea.
The CBI had started its probe into the excise policy case by filing an FIR against former Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia, Vijay Nair and others, over allegations of loopholes in the policy for kickbacks from liquor cartel.
Over the course of two years, several AAP leaders have been arrested by the federal probe agencies in this case, including Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh (now out on bail) and others, who were allegedly involved in spending the allegedly received kickbacks on AAP’s campaign for the Goa assembly elections in 2022.
CBI had also questioned Kejriwal for approximately nine hours in April last year.
ED has called Kejriwal the “key conspirator” and “kingpin” of the excise policy, which allegedly generated at least Rs 100 crore in payoffs to the party. The agency has chargesheeted both him and his party under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Kejriwal’s counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Vikram Chaudhari have for long argued that he was never named as an accused in the predicate offence, either in the CBI FIR or the Enforcement Complaint Information Report of the ED.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
Also read: HC stays bail granted to Kejriwal in Delhi excise case. ‘Trial court has not applied its mind’