The Delhi High Court on Monday reserved its order on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s regular bail plea in the alleged corruption case related to the now-scrapped excise policy. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna reserved the verdict after hearing arguments from Kejriwal’s counsel and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The CBI opposed Kejriwal’s bail plea, alleging that he was the “mastermind” behind the excise scam and could potentially influence witnesses if released. CBI’s counsel, advocate D P Singh, argued, “The investigation could not have been concluded without his arrest. Within a month, we filed the charge sheet.”
Earlier in the day, the CBI filed its final chargesheet in the case against Kejriwal and others, marking the conclusion of its investigation into the alleged Delhi Excise Policy scam. The probe agency had previously filed one main charge sheet and four supplementary charge sheets in the case, involving key figures such as former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Telangana MLC K Kavitha, and others.
The chargesheet named Kejriwal, AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak, non-executive director of Aurobindo Pharma P. Sarath Chandra Reddy, director of Buddy Retail Pvt Ltd Amit Arora, alleged hawala operator Vinod Chauhan, and businessman Ashish Mathur as accused.
According to the CBI’s chargesheet, liquor businessman and TDP MP Magunta Sreenivasalu Reddy met Kejriwal on March 16, 2021, at his office in the Delhi Secretariat. Reddy allegedly requested Kejriwal to support his liquor business in the national capital by influencing the Excise Policy 2021-22, which was then under development.
