Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea for bail in the corruption case related to the alleged excise policy scam, registered by the CBI, is scheduled to be heard by the Delhi High Court on July 5.
Advocate Rajat Bhardwaj, representing Kejriwal, emphasised that the applicant was unlawfully detained and has filed a bail plea. The matter was brought up urgently before a bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, who fixed the hearing for Friday.
Kejriwal, the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was arrested by the CBI on June 26 from Tihar Jail. He remains in judicial custody in a related money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
In addition to challenging his arrest in the CBI case, Kejriwal has also contested a trial court’s decision on July 1, which denied his request for increased lawyer meetings via video conference. Currently, he is allowed two such meetings per week.
The excise policy under scrutiny was annulled in 2022 following a CBI probe initiated by the Delhi lieutenant governor over alleged irregularities and corruption in its formulation and implementation.
The High Court had earlier issued a notice to the CBI and scheduled arguments for July 17 in response to Kejriwal’s challenge against his arrest.
Kejriwal was granted bail by a trial court on June 20 in the money laundering case, though this decision was stayed by the High Court.
