Delhi Court Grants Bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in Liquor Policy Scam
A Delhi court has granted bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in connection with the money laundering case related to the alleged liquor policy scam. The order was passed by Vacation Judge Nyay Bindu of Rouse Avenue Courts after reserving it earlier in the day.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had opposed the bail and requested a stay of the order until they could explore legal remedies. However, the court denied this request.
Background of the Case
Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21, 2024. The Supreme Court had granted him interim bail until June 1, considering the ongoing general elections. He surrendered on June 2. The ED’s special counsel, Zoheb Hossain, argued that there was substantial evidence against Kejriwal, including claims that co-accused Chanpreet Singh received large sums of money from entrepreneurs and paid hotel bills for Kejriwal. The counsel also mentioned Kejriwal’s refusal to provide his phone password as a negative inference.
Defense and Rebuttal
Senior Advocate Vikram Chaudhari, representing Kejriwal, argued that the ED’s case was speculative and lacked concrete evidence. He pointed out that Kejriwal was called as a witness in the CBI case and not an accused. Chaudhari questioned the timing of Kejriwal’s arrest, suggesting political motivations behind the ED’s actions.
Chaudhari also noted that co-accused Chanpreet Singh did not claim to have funded the AAP Goa elections or collected illicit funds. He argued that the evidence, such as recovered chats, did not indicate any wrongdoing related to the excise policy or bribes.
ED’s Allegations
The ED has alleged that Kejriwal is the “kingpin” of the Delhi excise scam, directly involved in money laundering activities totaling over Rs. 100 crores. They claimed that the excise policy was designed to benefit certain private companies with a 12% profit margin, which was not documented in the official meeting minutes of the Group of Ministers (GoM). The agency also accused Kejriwal and co-accused Vijay Nair of coordinating with other individuals to secure these profits for wholesalers.
Court’s Decision
Despite the ED’s assertions, the court granted Kejriwal bail, highlighting the need for concrete evidence and questioning the agency’s approach and timing of actions. The court had previously denied Kejriwal’s request for interim bail on medical grounds, stating that his active campaigning during elections contradicted claims of serious health issues.
The case continues to draw significant attention, with implications for other AAP leaders, including Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, who are also accused in the case. Sisodia remains in jail, while Singh has been granted bail by the Supreme Court.
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