The Enforcement Directorate (ED) brought Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal before the Rouse Avenue court on Friday following his arrest in connection with the excise policy case.
The matter will be heard by the bench of special CBI judge Kaveri Baweja. Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi is representing the Delhi CM in the case.
Kejriwal’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate came after he skipped nine summons issued against him by the agency and the Delhi High Court, which had refused to grant him relief from coercive action in connection with the excise policy case.
The case revolves around alleged irregularities and money laundering in the formulation and implementation of the Delhi excise policy in 2022, which was later scrapped.
Kejriwal’s arrest occurred shortly after the ED arrested K Kavitha, a leader of the Bharat Rashta Samithi (BRS) and daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, in connection with money laundering charges linked to the now-defunct excise policy.
Earlier, Manish Sisodia, the then Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, was arrested by the CBI on February 26 after several rounds of questioning. Sanjay Singh, a Rajya Sabha member, was arrested by the ED on October 5.
Kejriwal’s arrest comes ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, scheduled from April 19 to June 1, according to the announcement made by the Election Commission earlier this month.
Two senior AAP leaders, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, are currently in judicial custody in connection with the excise policy case.
