Delhi court extends judicial custody of CM Kejriwal till September 25

New Delhi, Sep 11 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) A court here on Wednesday extended till September 25 the judicial custody of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam.

CM Kejriwal was produced before the Rouse Avenue Court through video conferencing from Tihar Jail upon the expiry of previously granted judicial custody. In a brief hearing, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) assured the court that it would supply the soft copy of the charge sheet to the accused and would provide the hard copy within 3-4 days.

Taking cognisance of the charge sheet filed by the CBI, Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Court, last week, issued a production warrant for CM Kejriwal on September 11.

Earlier, the CBI had filed its supplementary charge sheet before a court here against the Delhi CM and other accused persons in the corruption case linked to the alleged excise policy scam. The Supreme Court is yet to pronounce its verdict on CM Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest by CBI and seeking bail in the corruption case.

On September 5, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan reserved its decision after hearing the oral arguments advanced by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo, and Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju, who appeared on behalf of the CBI. During the hearing, Singhvi contended that the CBI did not arrest CM Kejriwal for two years but made an “insurance arrest in a hurry” to prevent his release in the money laundering case. Singhvi added that Kejriwal, a constitutional functionary holding the position of Delhi Chief Minister, satisfied the triple test for grant of bail.

“He is not a flight risk, he will turn up to answer the questions of the investigative agency, and cannot tamper with documents, running into lakhs of pages, and digital evidence after two years,” he submitted. On the other hand, the central agency apprehended that the release of CM Kejriwal would turn many witnesses “hostile” and urged the apex court to not release him on bail.

ASG Raju said that many candidates of the AAP in the Goa Assembly election came forward to give their statements to the central agency only after CM Kejriwal was arrested. “They (witnesses) will turn hostile if your lordships release Kejriwal on bail,” he said. He argued that Kejriwal’s plea for bail should be remanded back to the trial court and he should not have petitioned the Delhi High Court for bail in the first instance.

The ASG submitted that arrest is a part of investigation and ordinarily, an investigating officer will not require any permission from a court to make an arrest. “But, in the present case, there was an order of the court granting the power (to arrest),” he said. He added that when an arrest is made pursuant to an order of the court, an accused cannot take a plea of violation of fundamental rights. In his special leave petition filed before the Supreme Court, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor challenged his arrest and subsequent remand orders while also pressing for bail in the corruption case. On the other hand, seeking dismissal of CM Kejriwal’s plea, the CBI said that the AAP supremo was simply attempting to politically sensationalise the matter, despite repeated orders passed by various courts being prima facie satisfied with the commission of the offences, for which cognisance already has been taken. The Supreme Court, on July 12, ordered CM Kejriwal to be released on interim bail in connection with the money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

However, he was not able to walk out of jail since he was arrested by the CBI. —