Delhi Minister and AAP leader Atishi.
Credit: X/@PTI_News
Excise case: SC to deliver on Friday verdict on Kejriwal's plea challenging arrest by ED
The Supreme Court is scheduled to deliver on Friday its verdict on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's plea challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam.
As per the cause list of July 12 uploaded on the apex court's website, a bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna will pronounce the judgement.
RECAP | Here is all that happened in the Kejriwal case till now
On May 17, the bench, also comprising Justice Dipankar Datta, had reserved its verdict on Kejriwal's plea.
The apex court had on April 15 sought a response from the ED on Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest in the money laundering case.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief has challenged in the top court the April 9 order of the Delhi High Court that had upheld his arrest in the case.
The high court had upheld Kejriwal's arrest in the case, saying there was no illegality about it and that the ED was left with "little option" after he skipped repeated summonses and refused to join the investigation.
The chief minister was arrested on March 21 by the ED in the money laundering case.
On June 20, he was granted bail by a trial court here on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh in the case.
However, the ED had moved the Delhi High Court the next day and contended that the trial court's order granting bail to Kejriwal was "perverse", "one-sided" and "wrong-sided" and that the findings were based on irrelevant facts.
The high court, on June 21, imposed an interim stay on the trial court's bail order till passing of an order on ED's application for interim relief. On June 25, the high court had passed a detailed order staying the trial court order.
Kejriwal was also arrested by the CBI on June 26 in connection with the corruption case related to the alleged excise policy scam.
The matter relates to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22, which has now been scrapped.
BJP demands Kejriwal resign on moral ground, AAP retorts
The BJP on Thursday said the entire country is waiting for Arvind Kejriwal to resign on moral grounds for being jailed in the excise policy scam, while the AAP said its national convener has been made an accused by the ED only to keep him in jail.
Liquor scam puts question mark on Kejriwal's political career: Vaishnaw
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday slammed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, claiming his role in the alleged liquor scam has raised a question mark on his entire political career.
The Union information and broadcasting minister was commenting on the Enforcement Directorate’s charge-sheet in the alleged excise policy scam, according to which Kejriwal “directly used” part of the Rs 100 crore "kickbacks" for his stay in a luxury hotel in Goa.
Excise case: Delhi HC lists for Sept 9 Kejriwal's plea against ED summons
The Delhi High Court on Thursday listed for hearing on September 9 Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's petition challenging the summonses issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with its probe into an excise policy-linked money laundering case.
A bench headed by Justice Prathiba M Singh granted four more weeks to the AAP leader to file a rejoinder to the reply submitted by the ED.
Whether need, necessity of arrest refers to satisfaction of formal parameters of arrest...We have clearly held mere interrogation does not allow to arrest: Justice Sanjiv Khanna
Arvind Kejriwal has suffered incarceration of 90 days ...We direct Kejriwal will be released on Interim Bail...we are conscious he is an elected leader: Justice Sanjiv Khanna.
SC grants interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister in excise policy case
"They said Mr Kejriwal has undergone a large period of incarceration already and therefore, directed his release and bail immediately in the ED matter," says Supreme Court lawyer Shadan Farasat
CM Kejriwal will remain in custody as his bail in the CBI case is still pending. This is a big victory: CM Kejriwal's lawyer Rishikesh Kumar
As far as the ED case is concerned, he is out. As far as CBI matter is concerned, his matter is going to come up for hearing on 17th July before High Court: Advocate Vivek Jain, counsel for Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal
"There are very issues of law which the Supreme Court was grappling with. One of the issues was the necessity of arrest, we had argued before the Court that since the material was there with ED since July-August 2023, why was he arrested in March 2024... Court must have considered the argument... During the time that the matter is pending before the larger bench, the court has allowed Mr Kejriwal to be our on interim bail. As far as the ED case is concerned, he is out. As far as CBI matter is concerned, his matter is going to come up for hearing on 17th July before High Court where we would be praying the High Court to release him immediately because there are no strict conditions which are there in CBI."