The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has approached Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court to extend the judicial custody of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in connection with a money laundering case tied to the scrapped Delhi liquor excise policy. Kejriwal, currently on interim bail, must surrender on June 2. The court has kept the ED's application pending, with a likely hearing on June 2.
Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 as part of its investigation into alleged money laundering associated with the now-abandoned Delhi excise policy. The Supreme Court granted him interim bail on May 10, with the stipulation that he avoid the Chief Minister's Office and the Delhi Secretariat. He is required to surrender and return to jail on June 2, just after the final phase of the general election polling.
On Friday, the ED's latest chargesheet named Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as accused in the excise policy investigation. An official from the ED stated that the chargesheet is based on "irrefutable evidence" indicating that Kejriwal used his position as Chief Minister to facilitate money laundering under Section 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) through AAP, which the ED categorizes as a "company" under Section 70 of the PMLA.
The excise policy case involves allegations of corruption and money laundering in the formulation and implementation of the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22, which has since been scrapped. The ED's chargesheet underscores the gravity of the accusations, positioning Kejriwal as a central figure in the alleged offenses.
