News Delhi 'This is dictatorship': Sunita Kejriwal on Delhi CM's arrest by CBI in excise policy case

'This is dictatorship': Sunita Kejriwal on Delhi CM's arrest by CBI in excise policy case

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal was formally arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today (June 26) in connection with the excise policy case.

Sunita Kejriwal, Arvind Kejriwal Image Source : PTI (FILE)Sunita Kejriwal, wife of Delhi Chief Minister and AAP Convenor Arvind Kejriwal

Arvind Kejriwal arrest: After a Delhi court reserved the order on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's CBI custody, his wife Sunita on Wednesday alleged the whole system was trying to ensure that her husband does not come out of jail and stressed that all this is akin to 'dictatorship' and 'emergency'.

In a post on X in Hindi, Sunita said her husband got bail on June 20 in the excise policy-linked money laundering case and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) immediately got a stay. "The very next day, the CBI made him an accused. And today he was arrested. The whole system is trying to ensure that the man does not come out of jail. This is not law. This is dictatorship, this is emergency," she said.

AAP on Kejriwal's arrest 

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said that when there was a possibility of Kejriwal being granted bail by the Supreme Court in a money laundering case, the BJP panicked and had him arrested in a 'fake case' by the CBI.

"The dictator crossed all limits of cruelty!! Today when there was every possibility of Chief Minister @ArvindKejriwal getting bail, the BJP went into panic mode and got Kejriwal arrested by the CBI in a fake case. The CBI took Kejriwal ji to Rouse Avenue Court where his blood sugar level dropped very low. Dictator, no matter how much oppression you inflict, Kejriwal will neither bow down nor break," it said in a post on X in Hindi.

CBI formally arrests Delhi CM 

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday (June 26) formally arrested Kejriwal in the alleged excise policy scam and sought five-day custody of the AAP national convener in the corruption case.

Kejriwal was granted bail by a Delhi court on June 20 after his arrest by the ED on March 21. However, the ED challenged this decision in the Delhi High Court, which subsequently stayed the bail on June 21 and reserved its order for June 25. Kejriwal's legal team then approached the Supreme Court, which advised waiting for the High Court's order rather than issuing an immediate decision.

However, the Delhi High Court pronounced that the trial court did not outline the necessary conditions for Kejriwal's release under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), under which he is charged, adding another layer of complexity to the ongoing legal battle.

Kejriwal has been in prison since April 1 in connection with the excise policy-linked money laundering case being probed by the ED. 

The Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 was withdrawn by the Kejriwal government in July 2022 after Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena recommended a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in its formulation and implementation.

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Also Read: CBI formally arrests Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in excise policy case