LIVE | Delhi court sends Kejriwal to ED custody till March 28
The central agency said Kejriwal was the ‘kingpin’ of the scam and was directly involved in use of proceeds of crime in AAP's Goa election campaign in 2022
A Delhi court on Friday (March 22) sent Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to ED custody till March 28.
The Enforcement Directorate, seeking his 10-day custody, earlier said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was a "key conspirator" in the liquor scam case along with other ministers and AAP leaders, as it sought his 10-day custody from a court in New Delhi.
The ED told Special Judge Kaveri Baweja at the Rouse Avenue court that Kejriwal received several crores of rupees as kickbacks from the 'South group' for formulating and implementing Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22.
He demanded Rs 100 crore from some accused from 'South group' for contesting the Punjab elections, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, who is appearing for the agency, told the court.
The law officer said the money trail showed that Rs 45 crore "kickback" used in Goa elections came from four hawala routes.
He said the statements of the accused and witnesses have been corroborated by Call Detail Records (CDR).
ASG SV Raju is appearing for the agency, while Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi is representing Kejriwal.
Kejriwal was produced in the trial court shortly after he withdrew from the Supreme Court his plea against arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the excise policy-linked money laundering case.
Kejriwal's counsel said he would contest the remand proceedings before the trial court and then come back to the apex court with another petition.
Plea withdrawn
Earlier, Kejriwal withdrew from Supreme Court his plea against arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, told the Supreme Court that Kejriwal was withdrawing the petition as it was clashing with the remand. Singhvi said he would file a fresh plea with the Court Registry, challenging the remand.
A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court was on Friday set to hear Kejriwal’s plea against his arrest by the ED in an excise policy-linked money-laundering case.
Kejriwal had moved the Supreme Court late Thursday after the ED arrested him and took him to the agency's headquarters.
What happened on Thursday
The arrest, the first of a sitting chief minister, came hours after the Delhi High Court refused to protect the AAP national convenor from any coercive action by the agency.
The 55-year-old leader's arrest, amid campaign for the Lok Sabha elections, drew angry reactions from his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The party said Kejriwal "will continue as the chief minister of Delhi. If need be, he will run the government from jail." The BJP though demanded that Kejriwal step down as chief minister on moral grounds.
The AAP has called nationwide protest on Friday against the arrest.
In a day of fast-paced developments, a 10-member ED team led by an additional director reached his official residence on Flagstaff Road in Civil Lines in the national capital soon after the high court order and carried out searches. He was arrested more than two hours after the ED team arrived at his residence, officials said.
They said the federal agency later took Kejriwal to its office in central Delhi. This is the 16th arrest in the case by the ED. Officials said the ED would produce the chief minister before a special court on Friday and seek his custody for interrogation in the case.
The ED has filed a total of six charge sheets in this case till now and attached assets worth over Rs 128 crore.
What ED says
The ED and the CBI had alleged that the Delhi government's excise policy to grant licenses to liquor traders allowed cartelization and favored certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by AAP. The policy was subsequently scrapped and Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena recommended a CBI probe into the irregularities in its formulation and implementation.
Kejriwal had skipped nine summonses issued by the agency for questioning in the case, the latest being for Thursday, March 21. He has called these summonses "illegal".
As the ED officials carried out their action inside, additional Delhi Police personnel and Rapid Action Force (RAF) and CRPF teams were deployed around the chief minister's residence.
Sources said that additional deployment was made as the ED sought extra security measures in anticipation of protests by AAP supporters.
Live Updates
- 22 March 2024 7:05 AM IST
Planned move to muzzle voices of opposition: NCP(SP)
The Nationalist Congress Party (SP) on Thursday said the arrest of Delhi DM Arvind Kejriwal is a systematic and planned move by the BJP to muzzle the voices of opposition leaders and keep them away from campaigning in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.
NCP(SP) leader Clyde Crasto said leaders like Kejriwal have been targeted because they are highlighting the “misdeeds” of the BJP.
The highlighting of misdeeds during campaigning will affect the votes of the BJP and, therefore, the ruling party is making sure these leaders are not present during the campaigning, he claimed.
“The arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal is a systematic planned move by the BJP to muzzle the voices of opposition leaders and keep them away from campaigning in the forthcoming Lok Sabha election,” Crasto said.
He said Kejriwal’s arrest is nothing but mockery of democracy by the BJP.
- 22 March 2024 7:02 AM IST
Undeclared Emergency: Tejashwi
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday slammed the ruling BJP at the Centre for the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal by the ED.
The former Bihar deputy CM charged the BJP-led NDA with “imposing an undeclared emergency” and “using probe agencies and constitutional bodies” to take on its rivals in elections, instead of taking on them politically.
“The arrest of Delhi CM Arvind clearly shows that the BJP does not want to face its opponents in the polls in a democratic manner. It wants to hide behind and lean heavily on investigating agencies and constitutional bodies,” the young leader wrote on X.
He added, “The NDA has torn to shreds the established norms of behaviour in a constitutional, democratic polity. The nation is in a state of undeclared emergency.”
The RJD leader, whose party is a constituent of INDIA bloc, like Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party, asserted, “We stand firmly with the popular government elected by the people of Delhi. As we all had declared at INDIA bloc's meetings in Patna and Mumbai, we are not the ones to be cowed down. We always fight back.”
- 21 March 2024 11:59 PM IST
ED has found no evidence, says top AAP leader
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) did not find any evidence at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence during their search, senior AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj said.
All ED found was Rs 70,000 which they returned, said Bharadwaj, who was present at Kejriwal's Civil Line residence when ED arrested him.
The agency did not find any evidence, property documents, illegal money or a money trail during its raid, the Delhi minister said.
Bharadwaj claimed that the ED searched the chief minister's residence and took his mobile phone before arresting him.
- 21 March 2024 11:47 PM IST
AAP calls for nationwide protest
The AAP) has called for a nationwide protest outside BJP offices against Kejriwal’s arrest by ED, Delhi Minister Gopal Rai said.
- 21 March 2024 11:41 PM IST
Move to quell dissent: Kerala CM
Kerala Chief Minister Vijayan has denounced the arrest of Kejriwal, alleging that it was a deliberate move aimed at quelling dissenting voices, particularly as the electoral process gains momentum.
"Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest is highly objectionable. The move is part of a deliberate attempt to silence opposition voices at a time when the electoral process gains momentum. This demonstrates the cowardice of those who fear the democratic process," the Chief Minister said.
- 21 March 2024 10:56 PM IST
TMC condemns Kejriwal's arrest
"We vehemently condemn the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal, an elected CM, especially when EC is in charge & MCC is in place. Earlier his administrative powers were snatched through an illegal ordinance. How can we expect fair elections in India if sitting CMs & prominent opposition leaders are arrested weeks before polls? If SC & ECI fail to act now, who will stand with people against BJP's oppressive politics in future?" wrote TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien on X (Twitter).
"The election process has begun. And now this! Chiefs of political parties, CMs, political leaders, election agents, workers, every opponent- being harassed & arrested like this What will be the fate of our precious democracy. LET US ALL SAVE DEMOCRACY FROM IMPENDING DISASTER," he said in another post.
- 21 March 2024 10:53 PM IST
'Mr Kejriwal, you are corrupt': BJP
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal reaped what he sowed, the BJP said on Thursday. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra also slammed protests by AAP leaders and supporters following their leader's arrest, and said the drama amounts to a "celebration of corruption".
Neither people nor courts will accept this, Patra said, adding, "Mr Kejriwal, you are corrupt. People of Delhi and people of India know you are corrupt." Noting that Kejriwal was served many summonses by the Enforcement Directorate, the BJP leader said the arrest has followed a protracted course of action.
Reiterating the BJP's charges against the Delhi chief minister, Patra asked why the Kejriwal government gave the excise policy its nod without the approval of its Cabinet and then scrapped it overnight. "Cartelisation was allowed, liquor manufacturers were allowed in wholesale and black-listed firms were allowed in the business at a huge cost to the exchequer," the BJP spokesperson alleged.
He is reaping what he showed, Patra said. "It is but natural that if you have evaded the law of the land, ultimately the law will catch up with you," he said.
- 21 March 2024 10:46 PM IST
Rahul Gandhi hits out at PM Modi
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wrote in Hindi on X (Twitter), "A scared dictator wants to create a dead democracy. While capturing all the institutions including the media, breaking up the parties, extorting money from companies, freezing the account of the main opposition party was not enough for the 'devilish power', now the arrest of the elected Chief Ministers has also become a common thing. INDIA will give a befitting reply to this."
- 21 March 2024 10:45 PM IST
Priyanka Gandhi says Kejriwal's arrest 'unconstitutional'
"Targeting Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in this manner during elections is completely wrong and unconstitutional. Lowering the level of politics in this manner suits neither the prime minister nor his government.
"Fight your critics in the electoral battle, confront them boldly and of course, attack their policies and working style -- this is democracy. But in this way, using the power of all the institutions of the country to fulfil one's political objective and weakening those by exerting pressure is against every principle of democracy," Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said in a post in Hindi on X.
- 21 March 2024 10:14 PM IST
Legal team going to SC Registrar's house: AAP
Our legal team is going to Supreme Court Registrar's house to seek urgent hearing, says AAP's Atishi on party moving SC against arrest of Kejriwal
