LIVE: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal Produced Before Rouse Avenue Court

LIVE UPDATES: 

• Delhi’s Rouse Avenue court reserves order on Enforcement Directorate’s plea seeking 7 days extension of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s custody remand.

• Senior Advocate Ramesh Gupta represented Kejriwal: “I’m willing to cooperate. But why was I arrested? The money trail has already been spent in Goa. So why was I arrested? They say they found the phone but they are not giving the password. Can they force me to give the password?”

 

• ED in Counter: ED in Rouse Avenue Court: Arvind Kejriwal has not disclosed the passwords. So we do not have access to digital data. He says he will speak to his lawyers and then decide whether the passwords are to be given or not. If he does not, we will have to break open the passwords.

• “It’s being alleged that there it was a Rs 100 cr scam…Justice Sanjiv Khanna said that the money trail is not yet traced…The motive of ED is to crush the Aam Aadmi Party,” submits Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal before Rouse Avenue Court during his ED remand hearing.

• Kejriwal: He is saying he is not opposing remand on the ground that money trail is established. Ye use bhi toh investigate kare.

 

• Sarath Reddy donated Rs 55 crores to BJP. I have proof that this racket is going on. Money trail is established. He donated 50 crores to BJP after being arrested.

 

• Now I want to say where this liquor scam money has finally gone. Kejriwal refers to SC judgment, says “Those who are quoting Rs 100 crores, they are nowhere in reality. This real liquor scam started after ED’s investigation.”
• Kejriwal statement: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in his statement before Rouse Avenue court said, “I was arrested, but no court has proved me guilty yet. CBI filed 31,000 pages and ED has filed 25,000 pages related to this matter. Even if you read them together, I would like to ask why have I been arrested? My name came to light only in four statements of four people.”

• Enforcement Directorate seeks 7 days extension of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s custody remand

 

• Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor, appeared before the Rouse Avenue Court as his Enforcement Directorate (ED) custodial remand concluded on Thursday.

The ED sought an extension of his remand, prompting Kejriwal to assert, upon entering the courtroom, that this situation was part of a political conspiracy that the people would ultimately address. Present alongside him were his wife, Sunita Kejriwal, and son, as well as Delhi cabinet ministers Atishi, Saurabh Bhardwaj, Gopal Rai, and several MLAs.

Sunita Kejriwal had previously stated that her husband, currently in ED custody over alleged excise scam links, would disclose the truth about the case on March 28. She mentioned the ED’s extensive raids related to the alleged liquor scam but noted that no evidence had been found so far.

The case revolves around suspected irregularities and money laundering connected to the formulation and execution of Delhi’s excise policy in 2022. The ED’s initial complaint in November 2021 highlighted intentional policy loopholes allegedly benefiting AAP leaders and accusations of kickbacks from the “South Group.”

The investigation stems from a report by Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar to Lieutenant Governor (LG) Vinai Kumar Saxena, citing procedural flaws and financial losses due to decisions made by AAP leaders. While Kejriwal was not initially named in FIRs, the ED’s chargesheet implicated him in alleged communications with key figures involved in the case.