Money laundering case: Delhi HC refuses to stay court proceedings against Arvind Kejriwal

Delhi High Court on Nov 20 refused to stay trial court proceedings against former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam.

The court fixed December 20, 2024, for a detailed hearing.

The High Court also issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate on a plea moved by Kejriwal challenging the trial court’s decision to take cognizance of the central probing agency's prosecution complaints in the Excise Policy case, citing lack of sanction.

This comes a day after Kejriwal sought the court's direction to set aside a trial court's order on the ground that the special judge took cognizance of the chargesheet in the absence of any sanction for his prosecution when he was the Delhi chief minister, a public servant, when the offense was allegedly committed.

The High Court bench led by Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri declined to stay the trial, emphasizing that the challenged order was from two months ago, not a fresh ruling.

Kumar Ohri however asked the Enforcement Directorate to respond to Kejriwal's plea against the trial court's cognizance of its chargesheet against him.

On Nov 12, the court sought the ED’s response to Kejriwal's other plea challenging the summons issued to him on the agency's complaint in the money laundering case. The court refused to stay the trial court's proceedings at this stage in the criminal case.

The Supreme Court granted Kejriwal interim bail on July 12 in the money laundering case and released him on bail on September 13 in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case.

Delhi's government implemented the excise policy on November 17, 2021, and scrapped it by September 2022 amid allegations of corruption. The money laundering case stems from a CBI FIR lodged after Delhi LG V K Saxena recommended a probe into the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the excise policy.