Today, On 6th December, The Delhi High Court refused to advance the hearing on former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea in the money laundering case related to the excise policy. Kejriwal had sought an early hearing, but the court denied the request. The case involves allegations of corruption in the formulation and implementation of the Delhi government’s excise policy. The decision keeps the hearing scheduled for a later date, continuing the legal process.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court, on Friday, declined to expedite the hearing for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s petition challenging a trial court’s acceptance of a chargesheet against him in a money laundering case.
Kejriwal had requested to move the hearing date from December 20 to an earlier date.
After the court refused to change the date, Kejriwal’s lawyer requested that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) be instructed to provide a copy of its response to the petition in advance.
The court responded, addressing the ED’s lawyer,
“Whatever you file, give it to them also,”
On November 21, the high court previously refused to stay the trial court proceedings against Kejriwal related to the money laundering case. The high court issued a notice seeking the ED’s response to the former Delhi chief minister’s plea.
Kejriwal’s petition seeks to overturn the trial court’s order and argues that the cognisance of the chargesheet was taken without the necessary prosecution sanction, as he was a public servant at the time of the alleged offense. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the ED, contended that the sanction to prosecute Kejriwal had been obtained, and an affidavit would be submitted.
In addition to seeking the annulment of the trial court’s July 9 order, Kejriwal has also requested the quashing of all proceedings in the case. His plea asserts that the prosecution is unlawful due to the absence of mandatory sanctions under Section 197 of the CrPC, which requires prior government approval for the prosecution of public servants accused of offenses related to their official duties.
On November 12, the high court called for the ED’s response regarding another plea from Kejriwal, which challenged summons issued against him in the money laundering case. The court had also declined to stay the trial court proceedings at that time.
While Kejriwal was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court on July 12 in the money laundering case, he received bail in the CBI case on September 13. The CBI and ED allege that irregularities occurred in the modification of the excise policy, benefiting certain license holders.
The Delhi government implemented the controversial policy on November 17, 2021, but scrapped it by the end of September 2022 amid corruption allegations. The money laundering case originated from a CBI investigation prompted by a recommendation from Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor, V K Saxena, regarding the alleged irregularities in the excise policy’s implementation.