On Monday, the Rouse Avenue Court granted the CBI an additional 15 days to obtain the required sanctions to prosecute individuals in the alleged excise scam case involving Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The special court adjourned the hearing on the CBI’s chargesheet against Kejriwal to August 27.
The adjournment followed the special public prosecutor’s update that the CBI anticipates receiving the necessary sanctions from the government to proceed with the prosecution of some accused named in the chargesheet. The CBI filed its final and fifth chargesheet on July 28, naming Kejriwal and five others—Sarath Chandra Reddy, Durgesh Pathak, Vinod Chauhan, Ashish Mathur, and Amit Arora—as alleged masterminds of the scheme.
The CBI has indicated that its investigation is complete. On August 8, the court extended Kejriwal’s judicial custody until August 20 following his video conference appearance.
Additionally, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging his arrest by the CBI and requested bail. The Delhi High Court had previously dismissed his petition against the arrest, advising him to seek bail from the trial court. The High Court noted that the police acted cautiously due to Kejriwal’s position, conducting extensive investigations across India to uncover the full extent of the alleged conspiracy.
Kejriwal, in his plea to the Delhi High Court, claimed that as the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party and the sitting Chief Minister, he is being unfairly targeted and harassed for extraneous reasons.