Delhi Excise policy case: Kejriwal challenges arrest, CBI custody in High Court

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal challenged in Delhi High Court on July 1 his arrest by the CBI in a corruption case related to the alleged excise policy scam.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on July 1 moved the Delhi High Court challenging his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the alleged corruption case related to the now scrapped excise policy. The AAP national convenor also challenged a trial court’s June 26 order by which he was remanded to three-day CBI custody.

On June 29, he was sent to judicial custody till July 12 by the trial court.

The order for the judicial remand was passed by the special Judge Sunena Sharma of Rouse Avenue Courts, after the CBI had moved an application seeking judicial custody remand for the Delhi CM.

“He needs to be in jail in the interest of the investigation and justice,” the CBI said in its remand application and added that the Delhi CM hasn’t cooperated in the interrogation.

Counsel representing Mr. Kejriwal opposed the judicial custody remand application stipulating that the excise policy case is going on since 2022 even though the CM was arrested in March 2024.

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“....The Supreme Court granted Mr. Kejriwal interim bail to campaign for general elections. The CBI had urged that some evidence was collected against Kejriwal in January and they got prosecution sanction under PC Act in April but the agency did not want to overreach the proceedings of the SC which is why it never arrested him,” advocate Vikram Chaudhary, who represented Mr. Kejriwal, said.