Arvind Kejriwal arrest LIVE Updates: Court reserves verdict on CBI’s plea, order likely at 4:30 pm

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal in the liquor policy case. The probe agency, who presented the AAP leader in the Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court said that the agency could’ve done the exercise before the Lok Sabha elections, but it didn’t. The probe agency on Tuesday examined the AAP supremo in Tihar Jail and recorded his statement related to the Excise Policy case. On the other hand, Kejriwal withdrew his plea from the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court order granting an interim stay on the operation of the trial court’s bail order. A vacation bench of Justices Manoj Misra and SVN Bhatti, which allowed Kejriwal to withdraw his plea, was told by the AAP leader’s counsel senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi that since the high court has passed a detailed order on June 25, he would like to file a substantial appeal. The Delhi High Court on Tuesday stayed Kejriwal’s bail order passed by the trial court, saying that the trial court should have at least recorded its satisfaction with the fulfilment of twin conditions of section 45 of Prevention of the Money Laundering Act (PMLA) before passing the impugned order. The court stated that the vacation judge did not properly consider the material documents presented by the ED. Kejriwal has been in custody since March 21, except for a brief period of interim bail granted by the Supreme Court for election campaigning. The case stems from alleged irregularities in Delhi’s now-scrapped 2021-22 excise policy.

What is the case?

The case against Kejriwal stems from allegations of irregularities in Delhi’s now-scrapped excise policy of 2021-22, which the CBI began probing following a recommendation by Delhi’s lieutenant governor in July 2022.

The AAP alleged on Wednesday that when there was a possibility of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal getting bail from the Supreme Court in a money laundering case, the BJP panicked and got him arrested in a “fake case” by the CBI. Earlier in the day, a Delhi court allowed the CBI to formally arrest Kejriwal in the Delhi excise policy case. The CBI arrested Kejriwal after Special Judge Amitabh Rawat passed the order. The agency has sought five-day custody of the chief minister in the case. In a post in Hindi on X, the AAP said, “The dictator crossed all limits of cruelty!! Today when there was every possibility of Chief Minister @ArvindKejriwal getting bail, the BJP went into panic mode and got Kejriwal arrested by the CBI in a fake case.” “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 will neither bow down nor break,” it said. Delhi CM arrested: It was after BRS leader K Kavitha’s arrest that the ED alleged on March 18 — for the first time — that Kejriwal was a conspirator in the case.