A Delhi court postponed the review of the Enforcement Directorate’s chargesheet against Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Excise PMLA case. The next hearing scheduled for July. This delay follows the ED’s investigation into alleged money laundering in the Delhi Excise Policy.
The Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi postponed the announcement of its decision on taking cognizance of the Enforcement Directorate‘s (ED) supplementary chargesheet (prosecution complaint) filed against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in a money laundering case related to the excise policy case.
The Special Judge, Kaveri Baweja, stated that the pronouncement of the order has been deferred until July 9. Previously, the same court reserved its order on this matter after considering the submissions made by the ED.
During the proceedings, advocate Zoheb Hossain, representing the Enforcement Directorate (ED), asserted that both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Arvind Kejriwal interconnected.
He argued,
“A political party is essentially an association of individuals, and multiple judgments have established that forming such an association is a right granted under Article 19(1)(c).”
The Rouse Avenue Court on Sunday ordered Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to judicial custody until June 5, 2024, observing that he surrendered at Tihar Jail as per Supreme Court instructions. Duty Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal acknowledged that Arvind Kejriwal complied with the Supreme Court’s directive by surrendering at Tihar Jail.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed an application in court seeking judicial custody of Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi. At the time, Kejriwal out on interim bail. The court set to hear the ED’s application for an extension of Kejriwal’s judicial custody by 14 days.
The ED filed this application on May 20, while Kejriwal already on interim bail granted by the Supreme Court. On June 1, the court reserved its decision on a new interim bail plea filed by Kejriwal. In this plea, Kejriwal sought 7 days of bail, citing medical reasons, in the Excise policy money laundering case.
On June 5, the Court scheduled to pronounce its order on a plea made by Kejriwal’s lawyer, but the Court refused to do so on the same day as requested. Earlier, on April 9, the High Court dismissed Kejriwal’s plea for release from jail and rejected his argument that his arrest politically motivated due to the looming Lok Sabha elections.
The High Court reasoned that Kejriwal’s absence from nine Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons over a six-month period undermined any claims of special privilege as Chief Minister, implying that his arrest a consequence of his non-cooperation. Kejriwal arrested by the ED on March 21 in connection with an investigation into alleged irregularities in the now-cancelled Delhi excise policy for the year 2021-22.