NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been sent to judicial custody till April 15. Voting for the first phase will begin on April 19.
The law of money laundering is such that once the ED closes it, it becomes difficult for a person to get bail. Staying in jail till April 15 means that Kejriwal will not be able to campaign for his party and the India alliance. Will remain in custody until the first phase passes. Preparations were made at Tihar jail as requested by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal
The court’s decision came a day after the INDIA bloc, an alliance of 27 opposition parties including AAP, came together at a rally in New Delhi to protest Kejriwal’s arrest and accused Modi of seeking to rig the election. ED lawyers on Monday said Kejriwal had been “non-cooperative” and was “giving evasive replies”, asking the court to remand him to judicial custody for 15 days.
Arvind Kejriwal will be provided with medicines in jail as he is diabetic. 2)He asked to be allowed to carry three books in jail – Bhagavad Geeta, Ramayan and a book How Prime Ministers Decide.(3)The Delhi Chief Minister will be allowed to retain a religious locket that he currently wears.( 4)He will be given a special diet. (5) Kejriwal has also demanded a table and chair in the jail.

A Delhi court has sent Delhi Chief Minister and key opposition leader Arvind Kejriwal to jail until April 15 in a corruption case, less than three weeks before the country begins voting in a seven-phase national election. court renewed detention on Monday for key opposition leader Kejriwal until April 15 in a graft case, his lawyers said, less than three weeks before voting begins in general elections. The Enforcement Directorate arrested the Aam Aadmi Party convener on March 21 in connection with the liquor excise policy case under which it has arrested key leaders in the AAP and ministers of Kejriwal’s government.
In a move that sparked protests last month, Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Kejriwal, over graft accusations related to the city’s liquor policy and he was remanded to custody until April 1. ED), had arrested Kejriwal last month in connection with allegations related to the capital city’s liquor policy and he had been remanded to the agency’s custody until April 1.
Kejriwal blamed Modi for his arrest.The action against the high-profile leader led to protests in the capital and the northern state of Punjab, which is also governed by his party, last week. Besides AAP, several other opposition parties, including regional groups, are also facing action from federal agencies, which they say is “politically motivated”.
The country’s main opposition Congress party says it has been hit with large income tax demands which it says is an effort to “cripple it financially” before the election. Modi and the BJP have denied the allegations. During a hearing in the Supreme Court on Monday, Income Tax department said it will not pursue a 35-bn rupee ($420m) payment from the Congress until after the completion of the election in June. The court set July 24 for the next hearing on the tax matter.The seven-phase election is set to be held from April 19 to June 1 and votes to be counted on June 4.
Kejriwal’s arrest has also drawn international attention, with the United States and Germany urging a “fair” and “impartial” trial, causing New Delhi to strongly object by asking them to stay away from its “internal” affairs.
In light of this, Kejriwal has made a special request for three books: the Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, and How Prime Minister Decides by Neerja Choudhary.He also requested medicines and a table and chair for his time in jail. On his requests, Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said that the Delhi CM is an “educated” individual and utilises his time ‘productively”. “That’s why he has asked for the books,” she said.
Bar and Bench has reported that Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju, who appeared for the ED, alleged that Kejriwal’s conduct has been “totally non cooperative and he has tried to mislead the interrogation. “Among allegations made by Raju was that Kejriwal said that co-accused and former AAP communication in-charge Vijay Nair does not report to him but to senior Delhi cabinet minister, Atishi. He has also, allegedly, not shared his phone’s password with the ED.
Kejriwal’s arrest is the second time this year and in the history of India that a sitting chief minister has been put in jail while serving the chair. Some accounts have it that it is the first, seeing that Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren quit before he was taken into custody also by the ED in a case of alleged money laundering linked to a land scam. However, Soren would not have quit had his arrest not been imminent.

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