New Delhi, March 22: Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court has sent Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, arrested in the Delhi Excise Scam case, to ED custody till March 28. The court of Special Judge Kaveri Baweja gave this order. ED had sought ten days’ custody of Kejriwal.
ASG SV Raju, appearing for the ED, said that Arvind Kejriwal is the main conspirator of the liquor policy scam. ED has found many important documents in the raid at Kejriwal’s house. These documents have revealed that Kejriwal was spying on ED officials. Raju said that Vijay Nair was living near Kejriwal in a house given to Delhi government minister Kailash Gehlot. Nair played the role of mediator between the South Group and the Aam Aadmi Party. Arvind Kejriwal had asked for bribe from South Group. This is confirmed by the statements. Kejriwal K. had also met Kavita.
Raju said that Arvind Kejriwal coordinates the major activities of the Aam Aadmi Party. He is the national coordinator of the party. He said that the excise policy was changed to fund the Aam Aadmi Party’s Goa elections. Raju said that for a complete investigation into the money transactions, Arvind Kejriwal has to be made to sit in front of the other accused and interrogate him.
He said that electronic evidence has been destroyed in the excise scam case. Many phones were destroyed or formatted to complicate investigations. Raju said that Arvind Kejriwal has not been arrested before the summons. He said that it is within the scope of the investigating officer to decide when and whom to arrest. There is nothing to suggest that Arvind Kejriwal has been arrested in violation of the provisions of Section 19 of the Money Laundering Act.
Senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, said that detention is not automatic. The detention requires satisfying Section 19 of the Money Laundering Act. Singhvi said that to take custody, need has to be shown. He said that ED has the right to arrest but it does not mean that it should arrest for questioning also. He said that in the entire application for detention, except a few paragraphs, only the reason for arrest has been copy-pasted.
In fact, after Arvind Kejriwal was not given protection from arrest by the Delhi High Court on March 21, ED had arrested Arvind Kejriwal after questioning late in the evening on March 21 itself. After this, today Rouse Avenue Court ordered to send Kejriwal to ED custody till March 28.
