The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is set to produce Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal before the Rouse Avenue Court on Thursday, which is the last day of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo’s custody with the agency. Meanwhile, the High Court will hear a public interest litigation (PIL) which seeks directions to prevent Kejriwal from issuing orders while being in ED custody, saying that it is the violation of the legal framework as well as against the principle of fair investigation.
Following Kejriwal's arrest, AAP members have launched protests in Delhi, alleging that the ED's actions are politically driven. Sunita Kejriwal, Arvind Kejriwal's wife, released a press statement questioning the destination of funds related to the alleged liquor policy scam.A day after his arrest, Mr Kejriwal had approached the Supreme Court for relief. However, he later withdrew his petition and his counsel, Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi, said they would contest the remand proceedings before the trial court and return to the top court with another petition.Thereafter, he was produced before the Rouse Avenue court, which remanded him in a weeklong custody.The ED's money laundering case is based on a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2022 that alleged irregularities in the liquor policy.
The CBI case, registered on a complaint by Delhi's Centre-appointed Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, alleges that top AAP leaders intentionally left loopholes in the policy to favour some licensees.The ED alleges that Mr Kejriwal was a key conspirator in the case. AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, and Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Kavitha have been arrested in this connection.