Delhi High Court to Hear CM Arvind Kejriwal’s Petition Against CBI Arrest in Excise Policy Case
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court will hear Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s petition on Tuesday challenging his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the ongoing investigation into the alleged excise policy scam.
On July 1, the Rouse Avenue court denied CM Kejriwal two additional video conferencing (VC) meetings with his lawyers from Tihar Jail. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja dismissed the application, stating, “The learned counsel for the applicant has failed to convince the court why the applicant is entitled to two additional legal meetings through VC based on the same grounds already discussed and dealt with in the earlier order. There appears to be no reason to take a different view based on the contents of the application under consideration.”
The judge noted that a similar application for additional legal meetings had been dismissed on April 10, 2024. It was argued that Kejriwal, facing about 30 litigations nationwide, required additional meetings to discuss his cases and ensure his right to a fair trial. Kejriwal’s counsel further stated that the applicant had been arrested in another case by the CBI after filing this application, and co-accused Sanjay Singh was granted additional legal meetings on February 22, 2024.
The CBI submitted that during police custody, Kejriwal was examined and interrogated but did not cooperate with the investigation, providing evasive replies contrary to the evidence. When confronted with evidence, he failed to give a proper and truthful explanation regarding the enhancement of the profit margin for wholesalers from 5 percent to 12 percent under the new Excise Policy of Delhi 2021-22, without any study or justification.
Given these facts, the CBI stated that further custodial interrogation of Kejriwal is not required at this stage. On June 26, the CBI arrested the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor after a Vacation Judge of the Delhi Court permitted the agency to examine and interrogate him in the courtroom, allowing them to proceed with his formal arrest.
The court also requested the CBI to provide the material they have for his arrest.
