Former Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal has made an application seeking a no-objection certificate (NOC) for renewing his passport, which had expired in 2018.
Such a request, as per the procedure for a passport renewal while in judicial custody, is pending before the Rouse Avenue Court.
The court has directed notices to both the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), requesting that they file their replies on the issue.
The next hearing is on June 4.
Kejriwal is currently on bail relating to the Delhi excise policy case. He was released on bail by the Supreme Court about six months after his arrest in March 2024, following charges of money laundering and corruption related to the since-cancelled excise policy.
His lawyers made the court aware that as his passport had expired in 2018, renewal is required and that judicial sanction is needed.
In the hearing, the CBI showed willingness to move ahead with arguments on the framing of charges. However, the agency had raised eyebrows on the number of petitions filed in the case, observing that the court had issued orders earlier on not filing new petitions, yet some of them are still pending, sources said.
On the same day, Kejriwal and co-accused such as former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, BRS leader K. Kavitha, among others, participated in court hearings through video conferencing.
This hearing was a significant milestone in the excise policy case, which had seen lengthy delays.
Over two and a half years after the case was filed, there was progress on May 23.
This development followed after prolonged disagreements between the defense and prosecution, especially regarding document scrutiny. Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh settled an important matter that had resulted in almost a year-long delay, even though the CBI had finished its probe much earlier.
The trial had been time and again delayed—about 25 times in the last ten months—largely because of several arguments sought by the defense from the prosecution.
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