The Delhi High Court on Monday reserved the order after a hearing on CM Arvind Kejriwal's regular bail plea in the excise policy case being investigated by CBI. During the hearing, the CBI argued against the bail on grounds of its new findings, which were mentioned in its new chargesheet that was filed in Rouse Avenue Court earlier today.
The federal probe agency said that the CBI discovered more evidence during its investigation, implicating Arvind Kejriwal as its investigation progressed. While submitting, Advocate DP Singh informed the court that the chargesheet filed today names six individuals, including Kejriwal, but five of them have not been arrested yet. The six names in the chargesheet include- P. Sarath Chandra Reddy, Durgesh Pathak, Vinod Chauhan, Ashish Mathur, Amit Arora, and Arvind Kejriwal.
Furthermore, the CBI counsel submitted that C. Aravind, an IAS officer under Manish Sisodia, has testified that Vijay Nair brought an excise policy copy to be saved into the computer, and Arvind Kejriwal was present at that time which indicates that Kejriwal was directly involved in the matter. CBI also emphasised that being the head of the cabinet, Kejriwal had signed the policy, adding that Kejriwal is a kingpin in the case.
What does Singhvi argue?
Arguing against CBI counsel, Kejriwal's lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that there is no direct evidence against Delhi CM. He said that the CBI called Vijay Nair the main accused, but he got bail in the CBI case long ago. He also argued that the probe agency called Kejriwal the 'Sutradhar' (kingpin) but has not spoken about it.
He underscored that there were nine inter-ministerial committees to deal with the liquor policy and these ministries have officials from different departments. Singhvi said that after a year, the policy was published in July 2021, adding that the excise policy was an institutional decision. Singhvi claimed that the CBI has no direct evidence, and neither it has any recovery. This is only a rumour, he alleged.
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