Liquor policy scam: Arvind Kejriwal's judicial custody extended till May 20

Delhi's Rouse Avenue court on Tuesday extended till May 20 the judicial custody of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the money laundering case related to the alleged liquor policy scam.

Meanwhile, a hearing is underway in the Supreme Court on interim bail for Arvind Kejriwal. The top court today hinted that it may grant interim relief to Kejriwal for campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections. The court said that if it granted interim relief, Kejriwal won't discharge his duty as the chief minister.

"We are very clear that we don't want you to be performing official duties since it may have a cascading effect," the bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said. 

"We do not want interference at all in the work of the government. It's your wish that you want to continue as Chief Minister. Today, it is not a question of legality but propriety. We are considering the interim bail just because of elections, else we wouldn't have considered it at all."

The SC also told the ED that it would hear the bail arguments as Kejriwal is "the sitting Chief Minister of Delhi and needs to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections". "This is an extraordinary situation. It is not like he is a habitual offender. Elections happen once in five years. It's not like harvesting a crop that will happen every four to six months. We need to consider on priority whether he should be released in the interim," the bench said.

Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 and is currently lodged in Tihar Jail under judicial custody. The top court had issued a notice to the ED on April 15 and sought its response to Kejriwal's plea against his arrest. On April 9, the Delhi High Court had upheld Kejriwal's arrest, saying there was no illegality and the ED was left with "little option" after he skipped repeated summonses and refused to join the investigation.

Earlier today, the SC questioned the ED over the "delay" in its probe and asked the agency to produce case files before the arrest of the AAP leader. The bench asked the ED to produce case files before and after the arrest of Delhi's former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who is also an accused in the case. 

The bench questioned the ED on the time taken to probe the case and noted that the agency has taken two years to unearth something The bench also asked why relevant direct questions were not put to witnesses and accused in the case.

Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the ED, said initially Kejriwal was not the focus of the investigation in the case and his role became clear at a later stage. He said Kejriwal had stayed in a seven-star hotel during the 2022 Goa Assembly polls and part of the bills were allegedly paid by the Delhi government's general administration department.