The Delhi High Court is scheduled to pronounce an order on June 25 regarding the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) plea challenging the bail granted to Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal in the money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise scam. The order is set to be delivered at 2:30 p.m.
The ED had filed written submissions before the Delhi High Court on Monday, opposing any relief to Kejriwal in the Excise Policy money laundering case. The ED argued that the trial court’s order granting bail was “perverse”, “one-sided” and “wrong-sided”, alleging that the findings were based on irrelevant facts.
The Enforcement Directorate is seeking to overturn the trial court’s decision, claiming that the vacation judge made erroneous findings in nearly every paragraph of the order, ignoring crucial evidence presented by the prosecution. According to the ED, the judge failed to consider new evidence gathered after 2023, including statements from 13 Angariyas (money lenders), Goa AAP workers, and AAP office bearers. The ED considers this evidence significant in the case against Arvind Kejriwal.
Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP national convenor, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21. He could have been released from Tihar jail if the high court had not granted interim relief to the central anti-money laundering agency. The trial court granted bail to Kejriwal on June 20, ordering his release on a personal bond of ₹ 1 lakh. Certain conditions were imposed, including that he would not interfere with the investigation or influence witnesses.
The excise policy was scrapped in 2022 after the Delhi lieutenant governor ordered a CBI probe into alleged irregularities and corruption in its formulation and execution. The CBI and ED allege that irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy and that undue favours were extended to the licence holders.
