The Delhi High Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on the petition moved by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal against his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for his alleged involvement in the Delhi Excise Policy scam case.
The order was passed by the single-judge Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.
The High Court had earlier denied any interim relief to Kejriwal and only issued notice on his plea challenging the arrest, as well as his interim application seeking immediate release.
Kejriwal is currently in judicial custody. He was arrested on the night of March 21. On March 22, the trial court remanded him to six days of ED custody, which was extended by further four days. On April 01, he was remanded to judicial custody till April 15.
The national agency apprised the High Court that Kejriwal was the kingpin and the key conspirator of the excise scam and there were reasons to believe on the basis of material in its possession that he was guilty of the offence of money laundering.
ED further alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was a ‘major beneficiary’ of the proceeds of the crime, and that the offence was committed through Kejriwal.
The Counsel representing ED argued that AAP was the major beneficiary of the proceeds of crime generated in the Delhi liquor policy scam case.
He said Kejriwal was not only the brain behind the AAP, but also controlled its major activities. He was also one of the founding members of AAP, and was also involved in the decision-making of the policy, as was evident from the statements of the witnesses.