Delhi court says Kejriwal gave Cabinet orders through counsel, rejects plea for more legal meetings

A Delhi court on Wednesday dismissed jailed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s petition for additional meetings with his lawyers, Live Law reported.

The chief minister, who is lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail, had sought permission to have five meetings with lawyers every week instead of the two that he has been allowed.

Special judge Kaveri Baweja, however, said that Kejriwal was using the permitted meetings with his legal team to pass orders to his Cabinet colleagues rather than to discuss the case against him, The Hindu reported.

The judge referred to a status report filed by the Enforcement Directorate that said that the Aam Aadmi Party chief had “dictated certain directions for being passed on to the Water Minister, to one of his lawyers [whose name he refused to disclose to the Investigating Agency] during the course of a legal meeting”.

The court said it appeared that Kejriwal was using the allotted time with his advocates “for purposes other than legal interviews in the aforesaid manner”.

The Delhi chief minister was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate on money-laundering charges in the liquor policy case.

On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court rejected his petition against his arrest, saying that material collected by the central law enforcement agency showed that he was actively involved in using and concealing the proceeds of crime. Kejriwal on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court against the order.

Liquor policy case

The Enforcement Directorate is investigating allegations of money-laundering in the Delhi liquor policy case based on a case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The two central agencies have alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party government modified Delhi’s now-scrapped liquor excise policy by increasing the commission of wholesalers from 5% to 12%. This allegedly facilitated receiving bribes from wholesalers who had a substantial market share and turnover.

The Enforcement Directorate alleged that Kejriwal himself engaged with key accused persons and urged them to collaborate with others involved in the case. It claimed that the Aam Aadmi Party chief was the “kingpin” and the “key conspirator” in the alleged scam and that material evidence had shown him to be guilty of money-laundering.