Delhi excise policy case: SC seeks ED’s reply on Sisodia’s bail plea by August 1
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is investigating Sisodia’s alleged criminal conspiracy angle in the money-laundering dimension being probed by the ED.
The Rouse Avenue Court on Thursday extended Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s custody until August 8 in connection with a corruption case relating to alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped excise policy. Kejriwal was produced before the court via video conferencing.
Special Judge Kaveri Baweja presided over the proceedings, ordering Kejriwal’s continued detention in Tihar Jail. The court’s decision came amidst a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into alleged irregularities surrounding Delhi’s excise policy.
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Despite being granted interim bail by the Supreme Court in a separate Enforcement Directorate (ED) case, Kejriwal remains incarcerated due to the CBI’s arrest related to the excise policy controversy.
The CBI formally arrested Kejriwal from Tihar jail on June 26 amid a Supreme Court hearing on his plea against the Delhi High Court’s stay on his bail granted by a lower court.
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The CBI has filed a separate case over the alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22.
The central probe agency has claimed that the so-called ‘South Lobby’ dictated the formulation of the excise policy and that the chief minister was involved in this.“The evidence shows that the south group dictated the formulation of the policy. Even before the policy was officially announced, efforts began to identify beneficiaries aligned with it,” Public Prosecutor D P Singh, representing the CBI claimed. He further stated that the notification process was rushed and no formal meetings were convened and Kejriwal was leading these efforts.
Meanwhile, the Rouse Avenue Court has also extended the judicial custody of Kejriwal’s former deputy Manish Sisodia and BRS leader K Kavitha in the excise policy case filed by the CBI.
While Sisodia has been lodged in jail since his arrest by the CBI on February 26, 2023, K Kavitha was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at her home in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad on March 15 this year.
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