Delhi Excise Policy: Arvind Kejriwal Seeks Early Hearing in SC

The Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Wednesday stated that he would consider Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal‘s request for an early listing of his plea against a high court order upholding his arrest.

Earlier in the day, Kejriwal filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the April 9 judgment of the Delhi high court.

“I will examine the e-mail (seeking early listing of plea). Please send the mail,” CJI Chandrachud told senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, who represents Kejriwal.

“This is urgent and concerns the Delhi chief minister. The arrest is based on an un-relied document and suppressed from us,” Singhvi asserted.

In a significant setback for the chief minister, the Delhi High Court upheld his arrest in a money laundering case stemming from the alleged excise policy scam on Tuesday. It stated that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had little choice after Kejriwal ignored repeated summonses and declined to participate in the investigation.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma cited the ED’s assertion that Kejriwal conspired and actively engaged in the use and concealment of the proceeds of crime to dismiss his petition against his arrest.

It rebuked the AAP leader for questioning the timing of his arrest and criticized him for “casting aspersions” on the judicial process with his claims about an approver making donations to the BJP through electoral bonds. The court emphasized that the law relating to approvers was not enacted to implicate politicians.

The high court emphasized that there was no contravention of legal provisions as the ED possessed sufficient material to incriminate him.

“Courts are concerned with constitutional morality and not political morality,” it affirmed.

“The material which has been encapsulated reveals that Sh. Arvind Kejriwal had allegedly conspired with other persons and was involved in the formulation of Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, in the process of demanding kickbacks from the South Group, as well as in generation, use and concealment of proceeds of crime,” said the court in its 106-page order.

The court noted there were statements of witnesses, including approvers, which “reflect” that Kejriwal was “allegedly personally involved” in the formulation of the excise policy and “prima-facie in the process of demanding kickbacks from the South Group in exchange for favors.”

The high court clarified that it was not addressing Kejriwal’s bail plea but his writ petition challenging the arrest on certain grounds.

The matter concerns alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22 that was subsequently revoked.

On March 21, Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), shortly after the high court declined to grant him protection from coercive action by the federal anti-money laundering agency.

He remains in judicial custody until April 15 and is presently confined in Tihar jail.