A Delhi court on Wednesday reserved its order on a plea by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seeking custody of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.
Judge Amitabh Rawat of the Delhi Rouse Avenue Court heard the arguments from both the CBI and Kejriwal at length before reserving the order.
Earlier today, the CBI formally arrested Kejriwal after Judge Rawat declined to interfere with the probe. Subsequently, the CBI sought custody of Kejriwal for five days.
During the hearing, Kejriwal personally addressed the court, asserting that he and other AAP leaders, including Manish Sisodia, who have been implicated in the case, are innocent. He refuted the CBI’s claim that he had blamed Manish Sisodia.
“I have never testified that Manish Sisodia is guilty. Manish Sisodia is innocent, AAP is innocent, and I am innocent. Their aim is to malign us through media. CBI has activated its ‘sources’. All their claims are false,” he said.
He alleged that the CBI’s objective was to manipulate media headlines to suggest that he had put the blame on Sisodia.
“Their idea is to ensure that front page headlines should be ‘Kejriwal has put all the blame on Manish Sisodia.’ They want this headline in all newspapers. That is their sole aim,” Kejriwal said.
The court agreed with Kejriwal, noting that he had not made the statements the CBI attributed to him.
“I read your statement. You have not said what CBI has claimed (about Sisodia),” the judge said.
Kejriwal explained his statement to the CBI, detailing the objectives of the excise policy and denying any personal involvement in the policy’s privatisation.
The CBI’s counsel argued that custodial interrogation of Kejriwal was necessary for their probe into alleged irregularities in the framing of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy of 2021-22.
Representing the CBI, advocate DP Singh stated, “We need his (Kejriwal’s) custodial interrogation… He (Kejriwal) pushed the entire onus on Manish Sisodia and said he has no idea about the excise policy. We need to confront him with documents that we have… We are not asking him to admit to something.”
Singh also highlighted Kejriwal’s evasive responses to previous queries, such as his visits to Goa.
Representing Kejriwal, senior advocate Vikram Chaudhari questioned the necessity and timing of the arrest, suggesting it was an abuse of power and an attempt to keep Kejriwal in custody for political reasons.
Kejriwal was first arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21, 2024, in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. The ED’s case stemmed from a complaint by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena. Kejriwal has been in judicial custody at Tihar jail since his return from interim bail on June 2.
During today’s remand hearing, the CBI’s counsel detailed the alleged case against Kejriwal, emphasizing the influence of liquor lobbies and fabricated public comments in the framing of the liquor policy. Kejriwal’s counsel countered these allegations, highlighting procedural regularities and questioning the credibility of witnesses.
The court reserved its order on the plea for Kejriwal’s custody, with a decision expected soon.
