Kejriwal's ED custody extended till April 1
The Rouse Revenue Court in Delhi has extended the Enforcement Directorate (ED)'s custody of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by four more days, till April 1. Kejriwal was produced in court on Thursday as his six-day custodial remand with the ED came to an end. This comes just a day after the Delhi High Court denied the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo immediate relief, stating that it would not interfere with his arrest by the ED.
ED sought 7 more days of custody
The remand order was issued by Special CBI Judge Kaveri Baweja. Arguing for the ED, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju said that Kejriwal was giving "evasive replies" during interrogation and the agency needed to confront him with few people who had been summoned from Goa. Kejriwal and the AAP have been accused of using the money they received as kickbacks for election campaigning in Goa and Punjab. The ED therefore requested a seven-day custody extension, which was reduced to four.
No court has proven me guilty: Kejriwal
Meanwhile, Kejriwal, at the hearing, accused the ED of trying "to crush" his party, saying that "no court has proven me guilty." He claimed that the ED had been entrusted with creating a "smokescreen...to allow the BJP to run an extortion racket through which they are collecting money." "The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed 31,000 pages (of chargesheets) and ED filed 25,000 pages. Even if you read them together...the question remains...why have I been arrested?" Kejriwal asked the court.
Delhi High Court rejects PIL to remove Kejriwal as CM
Separately, the Delhi High Court rejected a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking the removal of Kejriwal as Delhi chief minister. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora ruled that it is for the executive and the president to decide, and the court cannot interfere with the same. A self-proclaimed farmer and social worker, Surjit Singh Yadav, had filed two PILs seeking the removal of Kejriwal and to prevent him from issuing directions.
Why was Kejriwal arrested
The ED arrested Kejriwal on March 21 after his name appeared several times on chargesheets related to the excise policy case. The probe agency has accused him of soliciting kickbacks from liquor traders in exchange for favors and being the "kingpin and key conspirator" in the now-scrapped policy. At least 14 top AAP leaders have already been arrested in connection with the case, including Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh.
