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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was on Thursday, March 21st, arrested in the Delhi excise policy case, in which he had been issued multiple summons by the Enforcement Directorate.
What is the Delhi excise policy case?
Under Arvind Kejriwal's direction, the Delhi government unveiled a new excise policy in November 2021 to modernize alcohol sales in the area. On the other hand, opinions on this move were divided; some praised its progressive attitude, while others expressed worries about its possible effects on the economy and public health.
After reporting policy violations to Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Vinai Kumar Saxena less than a year later in July 2022, Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar of Delhi suggested that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) look into the matter. According to the report, the exchequer allegedly suffered "financial losses amounting to more than Rs 580 crore."
Investigations
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was taken into custody after the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) look into purported violations and irregularities in the procedural laws. The ED's subsequent arrests of Sisodia in a money-laundering case compounded his legal problems.
Link with "SOUTH GROUP"
Investigative agencies also claimed that a "South Group" was involved. This purported group included Sarath Reddy of Aurobindo Pharma, M Srinivasulu Reddy, MP for the Y.S.R.C.P., K Kavitha, a member of Bharatiya Rastra Samithi and the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. According to the E.D., the A.A.P. and the "South Group" established an agreement whereby the former gave money to the party led by Arvind Kejriwal for the Goa election campaign. The E.D. said that the "South Group" sought to retrieve this money through the liquor companies it owns in Delhi. When awarding licences under the new strategy, the AAP was charged with favouring these alcohol networks.
The Arrests
According to the CBI's FIR, Vijay Nair was involved in "irregularities in framing and implementation of excise policy" when he was arrested in September of last year. The ED detained booze vendor Sameer Mahendru the same month.
In November 2022, Sarath Reddy of Aurobindo Pharma and Benoy Babu, an officer of the massive liquor company Pernod Ricard, were taken into custody by the ED. The CBI's second arrest in the investigation was Abhishek Boinpally.
In February, the ED detained M Raghavan, the son of YSRCP MP Reddy, while the CBI arrested Buchi Babu.
The ED detained Mr Sisodia in March on suspicion of money laundering, which was the case's largest arrest. He has made several unsuccessful attempts to obtain bail.
Accusations against CM Kejriwal?
According to the ED, Kejriwal personally spoke with significant accused persons, pressuring them to cooperate with other parties in the probe.
Kejriwal was arrested even though he was served nine summonses between October 2023 and March 2024. This was because the Delhi High Court denied his request for an order to prevent his detention.
Kejriwal was arrested even though he was served nine summonses between October 2023 and March 2024. This was because the Delhi High Court denied his request for an order to prevent his detention.
Kejriwal gets interim relief from SC:
On May 10, Friday, the Supreme Court granted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal temporary bail until June 1 in the liquor policy issue. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, Kejriwal, is permitted to run for office in the Lok Sabha elections.
During Kejriwal's 21-day provisional bail, the court placed various limitations on him, one of which was preventing him from going into the chief minister's office.
During Kejriwal's 21-day provisional bail, the court placed various limitations on him, one of which was preventing him from going into the chief minister's office.
Five conditions imposed by SC
1) Kejriwal cannot visit his office or the Delhi Secretariat during the tenure of his interim bail, said the Supreme Court.
2) Kejriwal cannot sign any official file unless necessary to obtain the Lieutenant Governor's sanction during the 21-day interim bail period.
3) Kejriwal has to furnish bail bonds for Rs 50,000 with one surety of the like amount to the satisfaction of the jail superintendent.
4) "He will not make any comment about his role in the present case; and will not interact with any of the witnesses and/or have access to any official files connected with the case," said the court.
5) Kejriwal will have to surrender and return to jail on June 2.
CM Kejriwal moves SC against Delhi HC’s stay on bail order
Following a prima facie determination that Kejriwal is not guilty of the office, the trial judge granted him bail on June 20 in the money laundering case. The Enforcement Directorate urgently petitioned the Delhi High Court the following day to overturn the bail decision. The case was considered by a single High Court judge that same day. Following a lengthy hearing from both sides, the single bench postponed decisions regarding the ED's request to have the bail order stayed. The High Court further mandated that the bail order's functioning be halted until the order is proclaimed.
Supreme court reaction over kejriwal move
On Monday, June 24, the Supreme Court made an oral remark, calling the Delhi High Court's reserve ruling on the Enforcement Directorate's request for a stay against Arvind Kejriwal's release "a bit unusual."
The Court remarked that normally, stay orders are not reserved and are issued "on the spot" right after the hearing.
Kejriwal was presenting his case before a vacation bench made up of Justices Manoj Misra and SVN Bhatti. The plea was directed at the High Court's June 21 verdict, which had suspended the trial court's bail decision in the liquor policy issue. It should be mentioned that the High Court reserved final decisions regarding the ED's stay application while granting an interim stay on Kejriwal's bail.
Rather than deciding on Kejrthanal's plea today, the Top Court decided to postpone it until June 26 to await the High Court's ultimate ruling. The Court stated that while it waits for the High Court's ruling, it does not wish to "pre-judge" the matter.
During the proceedings, Justice Misra marked the reserving of the order in stay application as a "bit unusual". He said: "Normally on stay applications, orders are not reserved. They are passed at the hearing itself, on the spot. So it is a bit unusual, we will have it the day after"
At the commencement of today's hearing, senior advocate Dr Abhishek Manu Singvhi for Kejriwal submitted that the procedure for staying on bail on the first day was unprecedented. Secondly, he said that the balance of convenience was in the petitioner's favour.
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