Arvind Kejriwal Sent to Judicial Custody Till April 15

As his second ED custody ends today, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has been sent to judicial custody till April 15 in the Delhi excise policy case.

Kejriwal was produced in the court of Special Judge Kaveri Baweja after his ED custody ended.

Security outside the Rouse Avenue court has been heightened in view of the legal proceedings. Sunita Kejriwal and AAP leader Atish were present at the court complex.

Last Thursday, the court decided to extend Arvind Kejriwal’s custodial remand by four more days. The ED informed the court that data from the mobile device of Sunita, Kejriwal’s wife, had been extracted and requested an extension of custody.

Meanwhile, scrutiny of the data from four devices seized during the raid at Kejriwal’s premises on March 21, 2024, has not yielded any observations yet. Kejriwal has been requesting more time to deliver the login credentials to the authorities because the process requires legal consultation.

Appearing for the ED, ASG SV Raju asked for Delhi CM Kejriwal’s judicial custody. Raju said that Kejriwal’s conduct has been “non-cooperative,” and he is giving “evasive” replies. Raju said that Kejriwal did not give his phone password and kept giving ‘evasive’ replies, saying, ‘I don’t know’.

While being produced in court, Kejriwal said that the PM is not doing good for the country. “Pradhan Mantri ji jo ye kar rahe Hain wo Desh ke liye acha nahi Hain,” he said.

While terming the ED as a ‘trained parrot’, Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel said that he does not expect anything out of the hearing.

Speaking about Kejriwal’s hearing in the Rouse Avenue court, Ram Niwas Goel said, “I do not expect anything from this (ED Custody) hearing… Why did they change the laws of ED? They had the wrong intentions. If they have made someone a target from a political point of view, he cannot escape. He cannot get out of jail.”

Kejriwal moves applications, seeking permission to have a special diet, medicines, books, and a religious locket that he is wearing while in judicial custody. The legal team filed a request to let Kejriwal peruse three books: the Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, and ‘How Prime Ministers Decide’ by journalist Neerja Chaudhary.

On March 21st, Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, was arrested in connection with the money laundering case linked to a now-scrapped liquor policy, less than three weeks before the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.