Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday was presented in the Rouse Avenue Court by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the completion of his 6 days remand. Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the ED from his residence in the alleged liquor policy scam case. Thereafter, the Delhi CM was sent to 6 days of ED custody by the Rouse Avenue Court. The ED in the court had termed AAP Supremo as the kingpin of Delhi's excise policy scam worth Rs 100 crore. On Wednesday, Delhi CM's wife Sunita Kejriwal addressed the press conference and assured the people that Arvind Kejriwal will make a big exposure in the liquor policy scam in the court.
Therefore, the Delhi CM sought permission to speak and began his statements by saying that he had been arrested without a case. He made the submissions as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) produced him in the court of Special Judge Kaveri Baweja and sought seven days of further custody, arguing he needed to be confronted with some people linked with the case. Below is what Arvind Kejriwal said in the court-
Arvind Kejriwal addressing the court said, "I have been arrested... Nor has any case been filed against me... C Arvind was Manish Sisodia's PA. He said that Manish gave the papers to C Arvind in my house. Is this enough to arrest the CM? No court has found me guilty... ED and CBI have filed reports running into thousands of pages. Thanks to ED this case has been going on for two years.
I am named by four witnesses in the excise policy case. Are 4 statements enough to arrest a sitting CM?"
AAP Supremo then said, "There was a statement from Ragunta that he had come to me asking for land, I had said that the land falls within LG purview."
Notably, the ED objected to Kejriwal speaking and asked the Delhi CM to submit his statement in writing.
In response, Kejriwal further said, "I am not opposing ED's remand, it can keep me for as many days as it wants. It's being alleged that there it was a Rs 100 cr scam...Justice Sanjiv Khanna said that the money trail is not yet traced...The motive of ED is to crush the Aam Aadmi Party."
It is pertinent to mention here that ED in the court alleged that Aam Aadmi Party took the bribe and used it in Goa elections. "We have documents that this money was used in the Goa elections through the Hawala route. The money that Kejriwal is talking about giving to BJP has nothing to do with the liquor scam... There is no case of collusion (bribe) in it... Kejriwal is not a normal person. Kejriwal has hired big lawyers for the hearing, not every normal person has this facility," said the ED in the court.
At last, the Roiuse Avenue Court extended Arvind Kejriwal's ED remand till April 1, 2024. ED while seeking remand stated that Data in one mobile phone (belonging to the arrestee's wife) has been extracted and is being analyzed. However, data from the other 4 digital devices seized during search at Arvind Kejriwal's premises on 21.03.2024 (belonging to the arrestee himself) are yet to be extracted as the arrestee has sought time to provide password/login credentials after consulting with his lawyers.