Arvind Kejriwal: Delhi Court extends CM’s judicial custody till Aug 8

- July 25, 2024
| By : Saurav Gupta |

On May 10, the Supreme Court granted Kejriwal interim bail for 21 days to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections, after which he returned to prison on June 2.

A Delhi Court on Thursday extended the judicial custody of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal till August 8 for his alleged connection in the multi crore excise scam. Delhi CM was produced through video conferencing from Tihar Jail.

Following the scheduled end of Arvind Kejriwal’s judicial custody, the Rouse Avenue Court has extended the Delhi Chief Minister’s custody in the CBI case related to the Delhi Excise policy until July 25. Kejriwal has been in custody since March 21, under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for money laundering.

On May 10, the Supreme Court granted Kejriwal interim bail for 21 days to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections, after which he returned to prison on June 2.

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In a recent hearing, Special Judge Kaveri Baweja extended Kejriwal’s judicial custody to July 25, with the Chief Minister appearing via video conference from Tihar Jail. The court instructed the ED to provide copies of the supplementary charge sheet to Kejriwal’s counsel and other accused parties.

On July 9, the court acknowledged the supplementary charge sheet against Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), as well as another charge sheet involving Vinod Chauhan and Ashish Mathur. Production warrants were issued for Kejriwal, Chauhan, and AAP, while summons were issued to Mathur through the Investigating Officer. These documents are the seventh and eighth supplementary charge sheets in the ongoing money laundering case linked to the Delhi Excise policy.

The ED filed a supplementary prosecution complaint against Kejriwal and AAP on May 17, following Kejriwal’s arrest on March 21. Another supplementary complaint against Chauhan and Mathur was filed on July 1.

In this case, the ED has arrested several individuals, including Manish Sisodia, BRS leader K Kavitha, Sanjay Singh, and others, along with businessmen.

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During the bail hearing, ASG SV Raju argued against Kejriwal’s release, presenting evidence that Kejriwal allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs. 100 crores, which was purportedly used for AAP’s Goa election campaign. It was also claimed that Rs 45 crore was transferred by Vinod Chauhan to Chanpreet Singh through hawala channels, with Singh managing AAP’s campaign in Goa.

The ED’s remand request included evidence of approximately Rs 45 crore in hawala transfers, corroborated by call data records, IT-seized data from a hawala firm in Goa, proof of partial cash and bill payments, and WhatsApp messages. Multiple witness statements confirmed that cash was received by AAP campaign workers in Goa from Chanpreet Singh, who was involved in managing the campaign…..