A Delhi court has extended the judicial custody of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his former deputy Manish Sisodia, BRS legislator K Kavitha, and other accused in the case related to the now-scrapped liquor policy of the national capital. The extension applies to both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) cases.
The Rouse Avenue Court’s decision extends the custody of the accused until August 9 in the CBI case and until August 13 in the ED case. Kejriwal, who was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court in the ED’s money laundering case, remains in custody due to ongoing investigations by the CBI. The extension of their judicial custody comes as the initial period was set to end on July 31.
Manish Sisodia, a senior leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was arrested by the CBI on February 26, 2023, and later taken into custody by the ED on March 29. Kavitha, a BRS legislator and daughter of former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekar Rao, was arrested by the ED on March 15, 2024. Kejriwal, who had previously skipped nine summons, was arrested by the ED on March 21, 2024.
The Supreme Court had granted interim bail to Kejriwal on May 10, 2024, allowing him to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections. He was re-arrested on June 1, 2024, and received interim bail for the second time on July 12, 2024, but remains in custody due to the CBI case.
The CBI has described Kejriwal as the ‘sutradhar’ or facilitator in the alleged excise policy scam in its fifth and final charge sheet. Both Kejriwal and the AAP have consistently dismissed the charges as a politically motivated attack by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre.
Sources By Agencies
