The Delhi High Court fixes May 20 to hear ED’s complaint against Kejriwal, AAP
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal addresses supporters outside Tihar Jail after the Supreme Court (SC) granted him interim bail in a money laundering case, amid the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, in New Delhi, Friday, May 10, 2024. (Photo: PTI )
The Rouse Avenue Court has fixed Saturday, May 20, for consideration on ED’s supplementary chargesheet (prosecution complaint) filed against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as accused in connection with a money laundering case related to the Excise Policy case.
Special Judge Kaveri Baweja on Saturday fixed the matter for Monday for arguments and ED’s observations on knowledge point.
On Friday, Enforcement Directorate officials along with Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Naveen Kumar Matta along with two ED officials filed the chargesheet at the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi.
Last week, during the bail hearing of Manish Sisodia in the Delhi High Court, the Enforcement Directorate said that the Aam Aadmi Party will also be accused in the case and the supplementary charge sheet. Recently, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) told the Supreme Court that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will be made a co-accused in the money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy case.
Appearing before a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, ED Additional Solicitor General SV Raju said a complaint against AAP is in the pipeline and there is direct evidence that National Chairman and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal , demands Rs 100 crore. as a bribe in the case.
Raju said there is evidence that Kejriwal demanded a bribe of Rs 100 crores, which went to the AAP for the election expenses in Goa.
The ASG further contended that besides vicarious liability as head of the AAP, Kejriwal is also directly liable as a person who played a key role in formulating the excise policy. He said there was evidence to show that Kejriwal’s stay at a seven-star hotel in Goa was partly financed by an accused.
The bench asked the ED whether the investigating officer could ignore exculpatory material while exercising his power of arrest.
The question was asked as Kejriwal’s counsel had earlier claimed that there were several witness statements exonerating him, which were ignored by the ED, and that the officers had selected incriminating material to arrest him.
On May 10, the Supreme Court granted him interim bail till June 1 in the money laundering case registered by the ED in connection with Delhi’s excise policy. However, it was ordered that he should not visit the Chief Minister’s office and the Delhi Secretariat.
The bench had asked Kejriwal to surrender on June 2.
The apex court was hearing Kejriwal’s appeal against a Delhi High Court verdict dismissing his plea against arrest by the ED and his subsequent remand in the excise policy case.
Kejriwal, while filing an appeal in the Supreme Court, had argued that his arrest after the announcement of the general elections was “motivated by external considerations”.
On April 9, the Supreme Court rejected his plea for release from jail and rejected his argument of political revenge amid the impending Lok Sabha elections.
The Supreme Court had said that Kejriwal’s absence from nine ED summons over six months undermined any claims of special privileges as Chief Minister, suggesting that his arrest was an inevitable consequence of his non-cooperation.
Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 in connection with a money laundering probe into alleged irregularities in Delhi’s now canceled excise policy for 2021-2022.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: May 18, 2024 | 4:32 PM IST