What Is The Liquor Policy Case In Which Arvind Kejriwal Has Been Arrested? What Next For The Delhi CM?

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been arrested on alleged corruption charges related to the ongoing liquor policy case. His arrest comes just weeks before the Lok Sabha elections are scheduled to begin, with his party members calling it a ”big conspiracy” against the opposition.

The Aam Aadmi Party leader was at his residence when ED officials arrived and searched his place. Following a search and a questioning session which lasted about two hours, Kejriwal was arrested around 9 pm on Thursday.

Arvind Kejriwal has become the first sitting CM to be arrested. AAP minister Atishi Singh claims that Kejriwal will continue to be Delhi CM and "If need be, he will run the government from jail."

The party moved the Supreme Court on Thursday night for an urgent hearing to quash the arrest of Kejriwal by ED. The matter will be mentioned before the Supreme Court at 10.30 today.

What Is The Liquor Policy Case?

Kejriwal has been arrested in connection with an ongoing liquor policy case, under which the ED has previously alleged that through the excise policy implemented by the Delhi Government in November 2021, the AAP was involved in money laundering. 

The new policy reduced the legal drinking age to 21, replaced government-owned liquor stores with private entities, and implemented separate registration criteria for different liquor brands based on pricing and sales performance outside Delhi. Additionally, the annual liquor vending license fee was increased significantly from Rs 8 lakh to Rs 75 lakh. The new policy also granted licenses to 849 private vendors through competitive bidding.

The policy was later scrapped after violations were reported.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleges that the excise policy was part of a conspiracy to provide a 12 per cent wholesale business profit to certain private companies and was a coordinated effort by Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Vijay Nair and others.

Two other AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh have previously been arrested in connection with this case. BRS Leader K Kavitha too has been accused of "conspiring" with Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia to "get favours" in the Delhi excise policy formulation and implementation. She is expected to remain in ED custody till March 23.

What is next for the Delhi CM?

The arrest of the Delhi CM has stirred up a political storm, with the Aam Aadmi Party members along with prominent opposition leaders from the INDIA bloc coming out in support of Kejriwal. AAP has called for nationwide protest against the CM's arrest, also inviting other opposition leaders to join.

AAP leader Atishi Singh, while speaking to the media on Thursday, said Kejriwal’s arrest before the upcoming polls was a “political conspiracy” by the ruling party and that Arvind Kejriwal "is, was, and will remain the Delhi Chief Minister".

“We have said earlier that if needed, Kejriwal will run the government from jail. There is no law which prohibits him from running the government from jail. He has not been convicted and will remain the Delhi CM,” she said.

Despite Singh’s claims, there has been widespread debate about the feasibility of running the government from jail with many legal experts calling it a logistical challenge.

The matter will be mentioned before the Supreme Court at 10.30 today.