Arvind Kejriwal Challenges Evidence in Liquor Policy Case, Criticizes ED's Actions

Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, spoke in court on Thursday, challenging the validity of the evidence at the center of the liquor policy case and criticizing the ED in front of his family and half of his cabinet.

Before appearing in court, the head of the Aam Aadmi Party informed media that the corruption case was a "political conspiracy," pointing out that some of the defendants had altered their statements.

Kejriwal's ED detention was extended by special judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue district court till April 1. The organization requested an extra week.

Kejriwal said, "(The) ED can keep me in custody for as long as they want."

Kejriwal's approach so far has been to contest the constitutionality of the summons to him and refuse to cooperate, having partly learned from the legal fight of Hemant Soren, the incarcerated former chief minister of Jharkhand. Many saw this as an attempt at evasion.

Regarding criminal investigations into its leaders, the AAP leader stuck to his party's standard stance on Thursday: "Lock us up, but we have done no wrong."

Seated behind a screen in the witness box, Kejriwal wore light-colored slacks, rubber slippers, and an untucked shirt with a checkered pattern in blue and red. He also had a Reynolds 045 pen in his breast pocket.

Adil Ahmad Khan, a member of the party national leadership, and Delhi ministers Atishi, Saurabh Bhardwaj, and Gopal Rai were seated on a bench beside his wife Sunita, son Pulkit, and daughter Harshita.

Sunita told The Telegraph, "They've allowed home-cooked food but his blood sugar readings are very irregular."

"Due to his medical condition, sugar needs to be continuously monitored and treated appropriately."

In a videoconference, Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju stated: "He gave evasive replies." We must provide him with further testimonies. We are unable to access digital data since he has not revealed the passwords.

The court informed Kejriwal that the chief minister was being represented by lawyers when he asked to be given permission to speak. However, Kejriwal persisted, and the magistrate gave in.

"ED has two objectives: to finish off AAP and to create a smokescreen and run an extortion racket behind it," Kejriwal said. "ED's only mission was to trap me."

He concentrated on four statements made by the prosecution: those of C. Arvind, the secretary of former excise minister Manish Sisodia, YSR Congress MP Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, his son Raghava Magunta, and businessman P. Sarath Chandra Reddy, who is headquartered in Hyderabad.

Kejriwal emphasized that during Raghava's five-month detention, MP Reddy and his son had recanted their remarks. The chief minister said that the ED had censored these accused people's earlier testimony.

"C. Arvind reported that he observed Manish Sisodia giving some excise documents in my home." Every day, a number of clergy visit my house and converse with one another. Is this enough justification to detain a current chief minister? Kejriwal said, "I have proof that a racket is in operation.

A money trail has been created. When Sarath Reddy was jailed, he gave the BJP crores of rupees via electoral bonds.

The accused had provided justification for their altered statements, according to the ED, which refuted the accusations.

"All of these submissions have been made before the Delhi High Court," said ASG Raju. He wants to submit the same work to the gallery in an attempt to play it up. The authority to detain a community member is equivalent to that of an average citizen.

He went on to say that Sarath Reddy's BJP contributions were meaningless since the party had no input with the formulation of Delhi's now-revised liquor policy.

On Thursday, the Delhi High Court dismissed a request for Kejriwal's resignation, stating that the executive branch, not the courts, should handle issue.