A Delhi court on Saturday remanded Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to judicial custody till July 12 in the liquor policy case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, Live Law reported.
Kejriwal was produced before vacation judge Sunena Sharma of the Rouse Avenue Courts on the expiration of his three-day custody with the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The central agency on Wednesday arrested the Aam Aadmi Party chief in a money-laundering case linked to the now-scrapped liquor policy. He has been in jail since March when the Enforcement Directorate arrested him in the case.
On Saturday, the Central Bureau of Investigation told the court that Kejriwal was an “influential” political leader who could tamper with evidence and influence witnesses if he did not remain in custody. The agency further urged the court to send him to judicial custody for 14 days, Bar and Bench reported.
It also noted that the chief minister was evasive during the central agency’s questioning of him in the case and said that further custodial interrogation was not required for now.
Senior Advocate Vikram Chaudhari, representing Kejriwal, opposed the application, noting that the investigation in the case has been going on since August 2022, Live Law reported.
Chaudhari asked the court to look into whether there was any material to remand Kejriwal in the matter, Bar and Bench reported.
He further urged the court to direct the Central Bureau of Investigation to place on record the material it had collected against Kejriwal to arrest him. The remand proceedings would be illegal if the central agency was not able to satisfy the court on this aspect, Chaudhari said, Bar and Bench reported.
In response, the court said that the evidence collected by the central agency cannot be disclosed to the accused person. “Though it is the court’s obligation to see what steps IO [investigating officer] has taken during investigating the matter...It is between court and IO,” Judge Sharma said.
The court added: “There is no need to disclose [to the accused]…No need to worry about that, court will satisfy itself on necessity of remand.”
Chaudhari, however, said that he did not seek access to the case diary or the investigation material in the case but urged the court to examine the case diary, Bar and Bench reported.
He also asked the court to hold the central agency accountable for their statements by keeping a record of it during hearings.
Sharma said that it would be more appropriate for Kejriwal to file an application for bail. “You can’t just oppose JC [judicial custody],” the court said. “There is no provision for court to reject an application of IO [investigating officer) for remand to JC.”
Chaudhari then submitted that Kejriwal may be sent to judicial custody for now. However, he kept his petition opposing the remand open, Bar and Bench reported.
On June 20, vacation Judge Nyay Bindu of the Rouse Avenue Courts granted bail to Kejriwal in his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate. The Delhi High Court, however, issued an interim stay on the order the next day as it allowed an urgent hearing of a petition by the central agency.
On Tuesday, the High Court stayed the bail in its final order and said that the trial court “did not properly appreciate the material on record and the averments of ED [Enforcement Directorate]”.
The Enforcement Directorate is investigating allegations of money laundering in the liquor policy case based on a first information report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The two central agencies have alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party government had modified Delhi’s liquor policy by increasing the commission for wholesalers from 5% to 12%. This allegedly facilitated the receipt of bribes from wholesalers who had a substantial market share and turnover.
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