Delhi HC to hear Arvind Kejriwal’s bail plea in excise policy case today

The Delhi High Court will hear Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's plea seeking bail in an excise policy-linked money laundering case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). During the hearing, Advocate Rajat Bhardwaj asserted that the AAP chief was taken into “illegal custody” without following the due procedure of law.

The national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was arrested by the CBI on June 26 when he was in Tihar Jail. He remains in judicial custody there due to a related money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Kejriwal has already challenged his CBI arrest, and the plea is pending in the high court, which asked the CBI to file its reply while listing it for arguments on July 17.

In his plea, Arvind Kejriwal requested his release from custody and the dismissal of the entire CBI case against him. He contended that his arrest violated the statutory requirements outlined in Sections 41 and 60A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The excise policy was scrapped in 2022 following a CBI probe into alleged irregularities and corruption ordered by the Delhi lieutenant governor. The central agencies, CBI and ED, stated that irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy.

Notably, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been investigating the case from a money laundering perspective. On the other hand, the CBI is probing the case against Kejriwal from the point of view of corruption and bribe-taking by public servants.

The ED arrested the Delhi CM in March on charges of money laundering. These charges pertain to the generation and use of alleged tainted funds. Under Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), concealment, possession, acquisition and use of tainted funds, projecting as untainted property, or claiming as untainted property are criminal offences.

(With inputs from agencies)