Delhi Court Grants CBI Extra Time in Kejriwal Excise Scam Case

Rouse Avenue Court has given the CBI an additional 15 days to secure necessary sanctions to prosecute individuals in the excise scam involving Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The hearing is adjourned to August 27, while Kejriwal files a petition in the Supreme Court challenging his arrest.

The Rouse Avenue Court on Monday granted the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) 15 additional days to secure the required sanctions for prosecuting individuals in the alleged excise scam involving Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The special court has postponed the hearing on the cognizance of the CBI's chargesheet against Kejriwal to August 27.

The adjournment was issued following an update from the special public prosecutor, who informed the court that the CBI is awaiting the necessary sanctions from the government to proceed against some of the accused listed in the chargesheet. The CBI filed its final and fifth chargesheet on July 28, which identified Kejriwal as a key player in the alleged scheme. The chargesheet names six accused, including Kejriwal, Sarath Chandra Reddy, Durgesh Pathak, Vinod Chauhan, Ashish Mathur, and Amit Arora.

The CBI has indicated that its investigation is now complete. On August 8, the judge extended Kejriwal's judicial custody until August 20, following his appearance via video conference.

In a related development, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal filed a petition in the Supreme Court on Monday, challenging his arrest by the CBI in the Excise Policy case, alongside a bail plea. The Delhi High Court had previously rejected his petition challenging the arrest and suggested pursuing bail from the trial court. The High Court noted that the prosecution, while respecting Kejriwal's position as Chief Minister, conducted thorough investigations across India to uncover the extensive conspiracy.

Kejriwal had approached the Delhi High Court for regular bail, asserting that he is the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party and the sitting Chief Minister of Delhi, facing persecution and harassment for insincere and irrelevant reasons.

(With inputs from agencies.)