Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, was arrested on Monday, and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) justified it by referring to him as the “sutradhaar” of the liquor policy case. Calling Arvind Kejriwal the scam’s mastermind, the CBI said the Delhi High Court that without his detention, the inquiry could not have been finished.
Kejriwal ‘sutradhar’ of excise scam! pic.twitter.com/RFM1a00EFf
— Rajiv Babbar (@RajivBabbarbjp) July 30, 2024
Charges on The Policy and Legal Proceedings
The Enforcement Directorate detained Arvind Kejriwal, the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party, on March 21 of this year in connection with a money laundering investigation involving the purported liquor policy fraud. Although the CBI had arrested him in connection with a related case, the Supreme Court granted him temporary bail, thus he is still in custody.
Advocate DP Singh, the CBI’s attorney, contended in court that Kejriwal is not entitled to release simply because the chargesheet was filed. He drew attention to the fact that AAP leader Manish Sisodia and Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Kavitha also had chargesheets filed against them, but the courts had granted them bail. In this case, Sisodia and Kavitha are co-accused.
Role in Liquor Policy Distribution
In an attempt to disprove Kejriwal’s role in the purported scam, the CBI cited his hasty distribution of the policy and his signature as cabinet leader. Moreover, it is asserted that all of this occurred during the second lockdown the nation experienced as a result of the Covid-19 epidemic, and that members of the purported “South Group” flew planes to the capital to have meetings.
Even if the chargesheet is submitted, the CBI claimed that they have sufficient direct evidence against Kejriwal and that bail should not be granted due to the seriousness of the offense.
Delhi ko barbaad kar diya hai yeh fraud Kejriwal aur AAP ne pic.twitter.com/Xym8Wa2PN4
— desi mojito 🇮🇳 (@desimojito) July 29, 2024
Court Arguments by CBI and Defense
Kejriwal’s attorney, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, said in court that the AAP leader’s CBI detention was merely an “insurance arrest” because he had already been given bail in the money laundering case involving the Delhi excise. Singhvi contended that when arrest provisions are broken, the accused is entitled to bail and cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in Santander Antil’s case as support.
According to Singhvi, the CBI’s entire case is predicated solely on hearsay testimony, and there is no evidence recovered from Kejriwal or against him. The Lieutenant Governor and some fifty other bureaucrats were involved in nine expert committees that examined the policy over a year, and he continued, to approve it.
Temporary Bail and Further Developments
“This corrupt individual doesn’t just sit in a room and decide what the policy is. There were nine committees involved in all, and at least fifty officials. In this case, even the L-G had signed before the Chief Minister. Only Kejriwal and the LG signed it, that’s all that happened,” Singhvi stated. According to Singhvi, the CBI is attempting to apprehend Kejriwal based on hearsay and assumptions, and this is not a suitable method of demonstrating criminal responsibility.
In response to these claims, the CBI’s legal representative stated that Kejriwal’s attorneys’ claim that the L-G ought to have been named a co-accused was just sensationalistic because the L-G had no involvement at all. The CBI’s legal representative further stated that Kejriwal is the target of direct oral and documentary evidence from the agency. After that, the judge postponed making a bail decision.