Kejriwal in CBI Custody Over Excise Policy Case, Claims Innocence

New Delhi: The Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was sent to three-day custody after the CBI formally arrested him on Wednesday after obtaining permission from a local court here in connection with the excise policy case. In his submission before the court, Mr Kejriwal claimed innocence, while his wife Sunita Kejriwal compared his arrest to "dictatorship" and the BJP said that given the incriminating documents against him, the CBI was bound to arrest the AAP chief.

On Wednesday, Mr Kejriwal withdrew from the Supreme Court his plea challenging the Delhi High Court order granting an interim stay on the operation of the trial court's bail order. The top court granted him the liberty to file a substantial appeal."

The Central probe agency had sought five-day custody of the Delhi chief minister, but the court granted them only three days. The CBI told the Rouse Avenue court that it has evidence that the AAP supremo's stay in Goa was "paid for" through hawala money.

Special judge Amitabh Rawat passed the order on the application moved by the CBI asking for a five-day remand in a corruption case linked to the alleged excise policy scam. "The CBI application is allowed for three days; the accused must be produced before 7 pm on Saturday," the judge said.

Mr Kejriwal, who is already in judicial custody in connection with an ED money laundering case, will remain in the custody of the Central agency until his custodial interrogation comes to an end on June 29. His custody could be extended up to 15 days if the probe agency demands so. During this period, if he fails to secure bail in both the cases being probed by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate, he will go back to judicial custody once his police remand ends in the present case. Earlier on June 19, the court extended his judicial custody till July 3.

While seeking his custody, the CBI told the court that he is required to be quizzed to unearth the larger conspiracy in the matter. It said that the CM is required to be confronted with evidence and other people accused in the case.

The CBI moved the application seeking his arrest after he was produced before the court from the Tihar Central Jail today.

In his submission before the court, Mr Kejriwal claimed innocence in the case and said his former deputy Manish Sisodia, as well as the AAP are innocent.

Mr Kejriwal told the court: "It is being shown in the media, citing CBI sources, that I have put the entire blame on Mr Sisodia in a statement. I have not given any statement that Mr Sisodia is guilty or that anyone else is guilty. I have said Mr Sisodia is innocent, the AAP is innocent, I am innocent...Their entire plan is to defame us in front of the media. Please record that all these have been run in the media through CBI sources," he said.

Mr Kejriwal also claimed that the CBI is sensationalising the issue. "It needs to be clarified. This will be the top headline in all the newspapers. They aim to sensationalise the matter," he said.

To this, the judge said that the media picks up one line. "It is very difficult to control the media that way," he added.

The CBI counsel, however, said that they had argued on facts and that no agency source had stated anything.

"We need his custodial interrogation... He is not even recognising that (co-accused) Vijay Nair was working under him. He says Mr Nair was working under Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj. He puts the entire onus on Mr Sisodia (also accused in the case). He has to be confronted. He has to be shown documents," the CBI said.

The agency claimed that the "South lobby" visited Delhi when the Covid-19 wave was at its peak. The CBI had earlier claimed that a so-called South lobby dictated the formulation of the now-scrapped excise policy and that the chief minister was involved in all this.

The CBI also accused Mr Kejriwal of making "unnecessary allegations of malice". "Unnecessary allegations of malice are being made. We could have conducted these proceedings before the elections. I (the CBI) am doing my job, satisfying every court," the CBI counsel said.

The counsel representing the CM opposed the CBI's plea seeking his custody, terming the remand application "totally vague".

"This is a classic case of abuse of power," the counsel said. The defence also requested the judge for the documents related to the CBI proceedings against the AAP leader, including the court order related to his interrogation in Tihar prison on Tuesday evening.

Reacting to the AAP chief's arrest, Ms Kejriwal lashed out at the BJP and the CBI. She alleged that the whole system is trying to ensure that her husband does not come out of jail and that this is akin to "dictatorship" and "emergency".

In a post on X in Hindi, Ms Kejriwal said her husband got bail on June 20 in the excise policy-linked money laundering case, but the ED immediately got a stay. "The very next day, the CBI made him an accused and arrested him... The whole system is trying to ensure that the man does not come out of jail. This is not law. This is dictatorship, this is an Emergency," she said.

The AAP also accused the BJP of getting their leader arrested in a "fake case" by the CBI.

The AAP said in a post on X in Hindi: "The CBI took Kejriwal Ji to Rouse Avenue court, where his blood sugar level dropped very low. Dictator, no matter how much oppression you inflict, Kejriwal Ji will neither bow down nor break."

Hitting back, the Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said, "Mr Kejriwal was bound to be arrested by the CBI as the agency had presented incriminating documents against him in court. The documents presented before the court established that he is the "mastermind" behind it. The excise policy was formulated under his supervision and a "big scam" was committed."