Delhi's Rouse Avenue court on Tuesday extended Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's judicial custody till May 7 in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam. The court also extended the custody of Bharat Rashtra Samithi's Kalvakuntla Kavitha, another accused in the case, to May 7. It directed that Kejriwal and Kavitha be produced before it through video conferencing on the next date of hearing on May 7.
Kejriwal, the Aam Aadmi Party's national convenor, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Mar 21. The following day, the Rouse Avenue court gave Kejriwal's initial custody to the probe agency. The custody was extended again, and the Enforcement Directorate's remand ended on Apr 1. Following this, he was sent to judicial custody till today.
On Apr 15, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Enforcement Directorate on Kejriwal's plea against a Delhi High Court order rejecting his petition against his arrest by the probe agency in the liquor policy case. The apex court asked the agency to respond to the petition by Apr 24, and listed the case for hearing for the week starting Apr 29.
In November 2021, the Delhi government had announced a new excise policy that allowed private companies to distribute liquor in the national capital. The policy was later withdrawn following allegations of cartelisation and monopoly. The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that AAP took money from a liquor lobby to announce the new excise policy. It also claimed that the party was a major beneficiary of the proceeds and the chief minister was "a key conspirator" in the scam.
The probe agency has also arrested AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh in the same case. While Sisodia remains in judicial custody, the Supreme Court granted bail to Singh on Apr 2 pending trial.
