Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's judicial custody extended till July 3 in excise policy scam case

Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court Wednesday extended Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's judicial custody until July 3 in the excise policy money laundering case. The court also extended the custody of Vinod Chauhan, another accused in the case.

Following the conclusion of their judicial custody, Kejriwal and Chauhan were produced before Special Judge Niyay Bindu via videoconferencing from Tihar Jail.

During the hearing, the counsel appearing for Kejriwal opposed the Enforcement Directorate's application to extend his judicial custody, saying there were no grounds for doing so.

On March 21, Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money laundering probe relating to alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22.

Delhi excise policy scam is worth over ₹1,100 crore: ED

On Monday, the ED claimed that more than ₹1,100 crore were laundered under Delhi's excise policy. In a supplementary prosecution complaint, the federal agency said that Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha was involved in proceeds of crime (PoC) worth ₹292.8 crore.

“As per the investigation so far, the total proceeds of crime identified is ₹1,100 crore, out of which PoC of ₹292.8 crore is being dealt with in this Prosecution Complaint. Through activities of the accused persons i.e. Kavitha, Champreet Singh, Prince Kumar, Damodar Sharma and Arvind Singh, huge proceeds of crime have been generated," the charge sheet alleged.

Video of court hearing in excise policy case

Recently, the Delhi High Court directed Kejriwal's wife, Sunita, to remove the video recording of the court hearing in the excise policy case from social media platforms.

A division Bench of Justices Neena Bansal Krishna and Amit Sharma further directed social media companies like X (formerly known as Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to take down similar content when it comes to their attention.

Several social media handles were also directed to remove the video recording of court proceedings when Arvind Kejriwal addressed the court in person following his arrest in the excise policy case.

The Delhi High Court issued the order while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) that mentioned about audio/ video of Arvind Kejriwal addressing the Rouse Avenue court posted by Sunita Kejriwal and many other social media handles associated with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).