New Delhi: The Delhi high court will hear on Tuesday chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest by the CBI in a corruption case related to the alleged excise policy scam. The petition, filed on Monday, has been listed for hearing before Justice Neena Bansal Krishna.
The AAP convenor has also challenged a June 26 order of the trial court by which he was remanded to the CBI custody for three days. The trial court had on June 29 remanded Mr Kejriwal to judicial custody until July 12 as his three-day CBI custody ended in the excise policy case. After he was questioned by the Central agency in Tihar Jail in the corruption case linked to the excise policy case on June 25, the court sent Mr Kejriwal to three-day CBI custody the next day.
The CBI placed Mr Kejriwal under “formal” arrest on June 26 in the corruption case and produced him before special judge Amitabh Rawat. The agency sought his custody for five days to confront him with the evidence in the present case of conspiracy.
While sending Mr Kejriwal to CBI custody, the trial court refused to declare his arrest illegal, as sought by the defence counsel, saying “the timing may be circumspect but it is not the clear criterion for declaring an arrest illegal”.
The trial court said: “Investigation is the prerogative of the investigating agency, however, there are certain safeguards provided in the law and at this stage, on the material on record, it cannot be said that the arrest is illegal. The agency, however, should not be overzealous.”
In its remand application before the trial court, the CBI had claimed Mr Kejriwal “did not cooperate” during the custodial interrogation. “He also evaded questions regarding the transfer and utilisation of ill-gotten money to the tune of Rs 44.54 crores for the Goa elections by his party during 2021-22,” the CBI claimed, adding Mr Kejriwal was “deliberately and intentionally evading the just and relevant questions related to the case.”
The CBI also said the Delhi CM is a prominent politician and a “very influential person” and that he could influence the witnesses or tamper with the evidence in the case. The agency sought 14-day judicial custody for Mr Kejriwal, saying it was required “in the interest of the investigation and justice”.
Thereafter, when the matter was listed on June 29, special judge Sunena Sharma allowed the CBI plea and remanded Mr Kejriwal to judicial custody till July 12.
Mr Kejriwal was first arrested on March 21 by the ED in the excise policy matter. The Delhi high court had on June 25 stayed a trial court order granting him bail in the case filed by the ED. The next day, Mr Kejriwal withdrew his plea in the Supreme Court against the high court’s decision to reserve its verdict on the ED’s plea for staying the trial court’s bail order.
