Production warrant issued for Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in excise policy case

New Delhi, July 9

A Delhi court on Tuesday took cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) chargesheet making Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused in a money laundering case in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam.

Bid to finish AAP, alleges party

• The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has claimed that the BJP sees it as the biggest threat and has deployed the ED and the CBI to ensure that the party is finished
• This is perhaps the first case in the ED’s history where after two years of investigation, 500 raids and filing eight chargesheets, not a single rupee has been recovered from any AAP leader, it claimed

Rouse Avenue Court Special Judge Kaveri Baweja issued a production warrant against Kejriwal, summoning him to appear in the court on July 12.

The ED filed its eighth chargesheet in the case on May 17 in which AAP national convener and the party itself have been made accused.

Kejriwal is currently in judicial custody facing charges of corruption and money laundering related to the liquor policy “scam”. He was arrested by the CBI on June 26 with court’s permission after the agency examined him the previous day, hours after the Delhi HC stayed the trial court’s order granting bail to him.

He was later remanded in three-day CBI custody. Vacation Judge Amitabh Rawat observed that the arrest couldn’t be deemed illegal at that stage, but cautioned the central probe agency against overzealousness.

After the expiry of his remand, the CBI did not seek further remand and the court sent him to judicial custody till July 12.

Kejriwal has challenged his arrest and the three-day CBI remand. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna issued a notice to the CBI and listed the matter for June 17.

Kejriwal was initially arrested by the ED on March 21. He was granted 21-day interim bail by the Supreme Court (till June 1) due to the General Election. He surrendered on June 2.

In its reply, AAP said the ED’s intention from the very beginning was to frame AAP, arrest all its top leaders and crush the party. “The BJP sees AAP as the biggest threat in future and has deployed the ED and the CBI to ensure that AAP is finished,” it said.

The party said this was perhaps the first case in the ED’s history where after two years of investigation, 500 raids and filing eight chargesheets, not a single rupee had been recovered from any AAP leader.