Delhi Liquor Policy Case: The Delhi High Court is set to pronounce on Tuesday verdict on Arvind Kejriwal''s plea challenging his arrest and ED remand in excise policy-linked money laundering case. The Delhi CM is in judicial custody in a money laundering case linked with the alleged excise scam.
The decision will be pronounced by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, as per the case list uploaded on the high court’s website. Besides his arrest, Kejriwal has also challenged his subsequent remand in the Enforcement Directorate's custody. He was later remanded in judicial custody and is currently lodged in Tihar jail.
Kejriwal has questioned the "timing" of his arrest by the agency and said it was in contravention of the basic structure of the Constitution, including democracy, free and fair elections and level playing field. The probe agency opposed the plea and contended that the Delhi CM cannot claim "immunity" from arrest on the ground of upcoming elections as law is applied equally to him and an "aam aadmi".
ALSO READ: Delhi Ministers Refused To Attend Meetings After CM Kejriwal's Arrest: LG VK Saxena Writes To MHA
The AAP founder was arrested by the ED on March 21 after the high court refused to grant him protection from coercive action by the federal anti-money laundering agency. He was sent to judicial custody in the case on April 1 after he was produced in the trial court on expiry of ED custody.
The matter pertains to the alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 that was later scrapped.