Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court has taken cognizance of the CBI’s supplementary chargesheet against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak and others in a case related to the liquor scam. In this regard, Special Judge Kaveri Baveja said that there is sufficient evidence to proceed against Kejriwal and other accused, after which she directed the accused to appear in court on September 11. She also extended Kejriwal’s judicial custody till September 11.
The CBI had filed its fourth supplementary charge sheet on July 30, naming Kejriwal, Pathak, Amit Arora, Vinod Chauhan, Ashish Mathur and P. Sarath Reddy as accused in the case.
Let us tell you that in its fourth supplementary charge sheet, the CBI has accused Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the case of alleged irregularities in the formation and implementation of the expired Delhi Liquor Policy 2021-22.
The CBI, in its chargesheet, alleged that Kejriwal was one of the main conspirators in the case and was in touch with the South Group, which comprised K. Kavitha, Raghava Magunta, Arun Pillai, Buchibabu Gorantla, P. Sarath Reddy, Abhishek Boinpalli and Benoy Babu.
The CBI also claimed that the money paid as bribe was spent as per Kejriwal’s wish as all the money was sent to the Aam Aadmi Party’s fund. The agency also said that Kejriwal had promised to give Rs 90 lakh to each candidate in 40 constituencies of Goa. The court has fixed the next hearing of the case on September 11.
Earlier, the CBI had told the court last month that it had obtained the necessary sanction to prosecute Kejriwal and Pathak in this corruption case.
Kejriwal was arrested in the month of March
Arvind Kejriwal was first arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21. He was later taken into custody by the CBI from Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court on June 26 and later sent to judicial custody on June 29.
The Supreme Court had granted interim bail to Kejriwal in the ED case on July 12, though he is still lodged in Tihar jail as he was arrested by the CBI. He was earlier granted bail by the trial court in the case registered by the ED on June 20, which was stayed by the Delhi High Court on June 25. He was also granted interim bail by the Supreme Court on May 10 to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections. He later surrendered in Tihar jail on June 2.