In a significant development from Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was brought before the Rouse Avenue Courts today upon the conclusion of his six-day custody with the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The matter was heard by Special CBI Judge Kaveri Baweja, who extended the EDs remand for 4 days.
In Rouse Avenue Court, Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal claimed that he had handed over certain documents to Manish Sisodia. Kejriwal highlighted that numerous bureaucrats and legislators regularly visited his residence. He questioned whether statements from various individuals were sufficient grounds for the arrest of a sitting Chief Minister.
During his appearance in court, Kejriwal also touched upon the issue of electoral bonds, alleging that the BJP was receiving funds.
Kejriwal accused the political machinations behind his arrest, suggesting that individuals were being coerced into becoming government witnesses and changing their statements.
He further addressed allegations of a ₹100 crore scam, with Supreme Court noting that the specifics of the money transactions remain unclear. Kejriwal argued that the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) objective is to undermine the Aam Aadmi Party, with the ED opposing Kejriwal’s statements.
This judicial scrutiny comes in the wake of Kejriwal’s arrest by the ED on the evening of March 21. The following day, he was remanded to ED custody till March 28 by the special judge, despite the ED initially requesting a 10-day custody period.
In a related hearing yesterday, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma refrained from granting any interim relief to Kejriwal. The judge did, however, issue a notice on his plea, which challenges both his arrest and the subsequent ED remand, as well as his request for interim relief.
The courtroom witnessed the presence of Delhi Ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj, alongside Kejriwal’s wife, Sunita Kejriwal.
The Chief Minister, upon being presented in court, proclaimed to the media that his arrest was the result of a “political conspiracy,” asserting that the public would respond to these actions.
The hearing, which commenced under the observation of the presiding judge, saw ASG SV Raju and special counsel Zoheb Hossain representing the ED via video conference, while Senior Advocate Ramesh Gupta appeared for Kejriwal.
Raju highlighted the necessity of examining digital data extracted and mentioned Kejriwal’s need to be confronted with certain individuals, accusing him of providing evasive responses and deliberate non-cooperation.
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The ED’s request for an additional seven days of custody was met with Kejriwal’s desire to address the court personally, leading to a discourse where he questioned the sufficiency of the evidence against him and suggested a bias in the investigation.
Despite objections from ED’s counsels, Kejriwal continued to allege a motive to undermine the Aam Aadmi Party and highlighted questionable financial transactions involving other parties.
As the court reserved its order and deliberated on the extension of remand, both sides engaged in heated exchanges over the relevance and necessity of Kejriwal’s continued detention.
The Chief Minister’s counsel argued for the investigation of related financial transactions, questioning the basis of his arrest given the alleged expenditure of the implicated funds in Goa.
