Judicial custody of Arvind Kejriwal in ED case extended till May 7

A Delhi Court on Tuesday extended the judicial custody of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal till May 7 in the money laundering case connected with the alleged Delhi excise policy scam..Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Court passed the order. Judge Baweja ordered Kejriwal to be produced before the Court on May 7 at 2PM through video conferencing.Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on allegations that he was the "key conspirator" in the money laundering case registered in the matter.The arrest took place hours after his plea for interim protection from arrest was rejected by the Delhi High Court.On March 22, Kejriwal was produced by the ED before judge Baweja, who initially remanded the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader to ED custody till March 28.On March 28, Kejriwal's ED custody was extended further.Finally, on April 1, Kejriwal was remanded to judicial custody till April 15. It was then extended till today..The ED’s money laundering probe stems from a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on August 17, 2022 in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy for 2021-22. The CBI case was registered on a complaint made by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on July 20, 2022. It has been alleged that a criminal conspiracy was hatched by AAP leaders, including former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and other unidentified and unnamed private persons/entities during the stage of the policy’s formulation.The conspiracy, it has been alleged, stemmed from some of the loopholes “intentionally” left or created in the policy. These were allegedly meant to favour some licensees and conspirators post the tender process.Several AAP leaders including former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Member of Parliament Sanjay Singh were arrested by the ED in connection with the case.Singh got bail from the Supreme Court on April 2.Kejriwal's arrest marked the first time a sitting Chief Minister in India was put behind bars while still in office.The ED's move in this regard has led to several rounds of litigation before the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court, in addition to the remand hearings before the trial court at the Rouse Avenue Court complex in Delhi.Recently, the Delhi High Court rejected Kejriwal's plea challenging his arrest by the central agency and the trial court order remanding him to ED custody.The High Court also upheld the subsequent remand orders passed by the Court including the order through which the AAP national convenor was sent to judicial custody.