New Delhi: The Rouse Avenue Court on Tuesday fixed August 12 for consideration of the supplementary chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and five other accused persons in connection with the excise policy case.
The Special Judge Kaveri Baweja deferred the matter for submissions by CBI on cognizance of the chargesheet
CBI on Monday filed its final chargesheet in the excise policy case, naming Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Aam Aadmi Party leader Durgesh Pathak, businessman P Sarath Reddy, Vinod Chauhan, Ashish Mathur and Amit Arora, said CBI sources.
On Monday, the Delhi High Court reserved its order on Delhi CM Kejriwal's regular bail plea in the CBI case related to the excise policy. During the hearing, the Central Bureau of Investigation opposed the bail plea, referring to Kejriwal as the "sutradhar" of the case.
The bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, after noting down the submissions of both sides, reserved the order in the matter.
During the arguments, CBI's Special Counsel, DP Singh, informed the Delhi High Court that as their investigation progressed, they discovered more evidence implicating Arvind Kejriwal. The chargesheet had been filed today, naming six individuals, including Kejriwal, but five of them have not been arrested.
The CBI informed the Delhi High Court that they had completed their investigation and filed a chargesheet within a month. They claimed that Arvind Kejriwal is the central figure or "sutradhar," in the excise policy scam.
The CBI counsel stated that Arvind Kejriwal, as the head of the cabinet, signed the excise policy, circulated it to his colleagues, and received their signatures within a single day. This occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CBI counsel further submitted that C Aravind, an IAS officer under Manish Sisodia, testified that Vijay Nair brought a copy of the excise policy to be entered into the computer, and Arvind Kejriwal was present at that time.
This, according to the CBI, indicates Kejriwal's direct involvement in the matter. CBI counsel DP Singh stated that the investigation agency has traced Rs 44 crores of money related to the case, which was sent to Goa.
Arvind Kejriwal instructed his candidates not to worry about the funds and to focus on contesting the elections, said Advocate DP Singh
CBI counsel DP Singh argued that while direct evidence might be lacking, witness testimonies, including three witnesses and 164 statements made in court, clearly indicate Kejriwal's involvement. Singh asserted that such evidence emerged only after Kejriwal's arrest, as Punjab officers would not have come forward otherwise.
He has recently been approached to challenge his wholly non-est and illegal arrest as well as patently routine remand orders passed by the Trial Court.
The said writ petition had come up for hearing before this Court on July 2, when this Court issued notice and listed the matter for hearing on July 17. (with Agency inputs)
