Liquor policy case: Court remands Arvind Kejriwal to three-day CBI custody
NEW DELHI: The Rouse Avenue court has released Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in three days CBI custody in connection with the liquor case. The CBI demanded five days' custody. The CBI registered Kejriwal's arrest yesterday after taking the permission of vacation judge Amitabh Raut and interrogating him. The CBI's dramatic move came when the Supreme Court was hearing Kejriwal's plea related to the ED case in the morning.
A CBI team reached Tihar Jail on Tuesday night and took Kejriwal's statement. An application was also made to the Rouse Avenue Court yesterday morning regarding the formal recording of the arrest. The lawyer vehemently opposed the request to produce Kejriwal in court. Kejriwal's lawyer Vivek Jain complained that he came to know about the CBI moves only through the media and was not even handed over a copy of the application. However, the CBI argued that there is no requirement to inform the accused about the investigation. ED arrested Kejriwal on March 21.
The Delhi High Court has stayed the bail granted to Kejriwal by the Delhi Rouse Avenue Court in the ED case. The High Court had ordered an interim stay on the 21st, barring the bail, and issued a final order on the 25th. With this, Kejriwal withdrew the petition filed in the Supreme Court against the interim stay on the 21st. Adv Abhishek Manu Singhvi informed the court that he will file a fresh petition challenging both the orders dated 21st and 25th. It is crucial whether the Supreme Court will accept the bail granted by the trial court in the ED case. Now that he has been accused in the CBI case as well, the Delhi Chief Minister can be released from jail only if he gets bail in both cases.
Meanwhile, Kejriwal directly opposed the arrest and custody application in the CBI case. When Kejriwal was produced in the Rouse Avenue Court yesterday, Kejriwal accused the CBI of spreading fake news. “A false narrative is being spread by CBI sources in the media that I have put the blame of liquor policy scam on Manish Sisodia. I have not made any such statement blaming Manish Sisodia or any other person. I had said that Manish Sisodia is innocent. Aam Aadmi Party is innocent. I am innocent. But CBI’s plan is to malign us in the media. Please record that CBI sources have spread fake news in the media,” he reportedly said.