New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was placed under judicial custody until September 25 by a Delhi court on Wednesday in relation to the purported liquor policy scam.
Mr. Kejriwal was brought before the Rouse Avenue Court via video conference from Tihar Jail when his previous order for judicial custody expired. During a brief hearing, the accused was given a soft copy of the charge sheet by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which promised to provide the hard copy to them in 3–4 days.
Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Court last week issued a production warrant for Mr. Kejriwal on September 11, taking note of the charge sheet that the CBI had filed. The Delhi Chief Minister and other accused parties were the subject of the CBI’s supplementary charge sheet, which was previously submitted to this court in connection with the corruption investigation concerning the purported excise policy scam.
The Supreme Court has not yet made a decision regarding Mr. Kejriwal’s appeal challenging his CBI arrest and requesting bail in the corruption case.
After hearing the oral arguments made by senior attorney Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who represented the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, who appeared on behalf of the CBI, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan reserved its decision on September 5.
During the hearing, Mr Singhvi contended that the CBI did not arrest Mr. Kejriwal for two years but made an “insurance arrest in a hurry” to prevent his release in the money laundering case.
Chief Minister of Delhi and constitutional official Mr. Kejriwal met the triple test for bail. Mr. Singhvi continued, “He is not a flight risk; he will turn up to answer the questions of the investigative agency and cannot tamper with documents, running into lakhs of pages, and digital evidence after two years,” he submitted.
According to ASG Raju, many AAP candidates for the Goa Assembly election only came forward to speak with the central agency following Mr. Kejriwal’s apprehension. “They (witnesses) will turn hostile if your lordships release Kejriwal on bail,” he said.
He argued that instead of asking the Delhi High Court to grant bail in the first instance, Mr. Kejriwal’s plea for bail should be remanded back to the trial court.
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