Excise policy case: Arvind Kejriwal moves Delhi High Court against arrest

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday, 23 March, moved the Delhi High Court challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.

Sources in his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said his legal team would request the high court to hear the matter urgently, preferably on Sunday.

On Friday, a trial court remanded him in ED's custody till 28 March "for his detailed and sustained interrogation".

In his plea, Kejriwal, who was apprehended by the ED on Friday night, contended that his arrest and remand were illegal and that he was entitled to be released from custody immediately.

The ED had arrested Kejriwal hours after the high court refused to grant him protection from coercive action by the central anti-money laundering agency.

Kejriwal had approached the high court for quashing and setting aside all proceedings including the summons issued against him.

In that petition, Kejriwal said he is a "vocal critic" of the ruling party, an Opposition leader and a partner in the INDIA bloc, and the ED, being under the Centre's control, has been "weaponised".

The case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 which was later scrapped.

Top AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh are in judicial custody in the case.

Kejriwal's name has been mentioned multiple times in the charge sheets filed by the ED.

The agency has alleged that the accused were in touch with Kejriwal for formulating the excise policy that resulted in undue benefits to them in return for which they paid kickbacks to the AAP.