ED seeks time from HC to reply to Kejriwal's plea in liquor policy case

The Enforcement Directorate says it got Delhi Chief Minister's petition just yesterday

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday asked the Delhi High Court for time to reply to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's plea against his arrest in a liquor policy case, multiple news organisations reported.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S V Raju, who argued for the ED, said the federal agency had received a copy of Kejriwal’s petition on Tuesday.

"Glaring issues in Kejriwal's arrest in an excise policy-linked case require immediate decision," said senior advocate A M Singhvi, who represented the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader. "ED's request for time to file reply to Kejriwal's challenge to arrest in excise case a delay tactic," Singhvi told the court.

Kejriwal was arrested by the ED in the money laundering probe on March 21 and remanded to the agency’s custody till March 28. His arrest came shortly after the Delhi HC denied him protection from coercive action by the federal anti-money laundering agency.

ED’s case alleges corruption and money laundering in the development and implementation of the Delhi government's now-scrapped excise policy for FY22.

AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh are in judicial custody in connection with the case. The ED has conducted raids on AAP leaders allegedly involved in the scam.

Kejriwal's name has appeared multiple times in the ED's charge sheets. The agency claims that the accused were in contact with Kejriwal regarding the formulation of the excise policy, which resulted in them receiving undue benefits. In return, they allegedly provided kickbacks to the AAP.