NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose Aam Aadmi Party came to power on the promise of providing corruption-free governance, has now been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the excise policy case. Following his arrest on Thursday by the central agency after two hours of questioning, the 55-year-old AAP national convener became the first sitting chief minister to have been arrested in a criminal case. The ED’s move came hours after the Delhi High Court refused to grant Kejriwal protection from the central agency’s coercive action.
His arrest in the Delhi liquor policy case comes right ahead of the Lok Sabha Election 2024. It may be noted that the Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal had skipped 9 back-to-back summons by the ED. The case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22, which was later scrapped. AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh are in judicial custody in the case.
In the wake of his arrest, Delhi Minister Aatishi – the No. 2 leader in the AAP rank – said that Kejriwal will not resign and will likely run the government from prison. Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goyal also said that he won’t resign. Days before Kejriwal’s arrest, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren was arrested on January 31 in a money laundering case. However, he had resigned before being placed under arrest.
Arvind Kejriwal is the latest name in a long list of individuals arrested during their tenure as Chief Minister or after serving as the CM of a state. The list includes names like Lalu Prasad Yadav, J Jayalalithaa, Om Prakash Chautala, Madhu Koda, Chandrababu Naidu, and Hemant Soren.
Hemant Soren
Hemant Soren was arrested on January 31 this year during his tenure as the Jharkhand CM. He resigned right before his arrest and the mantle was passed on to JMM leader Champai Soren. Hemant Soren was arrested in an illegal land acquisition case which was related to an illegal mining case. The allegations against him included falsification of land records.
J Jayalalithaa
The first former CM to have been arrested was then AIADMK chief late J Jayalalithaa in 1996, when the DMK was in power in Tamil Nadu. Jayalalithaa was arrested on December 7, 1996, and sent to prison for a month on charges of corruption in the purchase of TV sets for villagers. Jayalalithaa also became the first CM to have been convicted in a disproportionate assets case by a Bengaluru court in 2014. She faced disqualification as an MLA, losing the CM’s post following her conviction.
Lalu Prasad Yadav
Lalu Prasad Yadav — who served as the Bihar Chief Minister for two terms, 1990-95 and 1995-97 — was first sent an arrest warrant in 1997 in the fodder scam when he was the CM. He resigned from the chair and made his wife Rabri Devi the CM. After spending 135 days in judicial custody, he was granted bail. Since then, he has gone to jail multiple times in a disproportionate assets case. Lalu is currently being probed in multiple cases related to the alleged cash-for-jobs scam.
Chandrababu Naidu
TDP president Chandrababu Naidu, who served as the 13th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh between 2014 and 2019, was arrested on September 9 last year under allegations of misappropriating funds from the Skill Development Corporation. These accusations purportedly led to a substantial loss exceeding Rs 300 crore to the state exchequer. Presently, Naidu is out on interim bail, awaiting the hearing of his regular bail petition scheduled for November 10 in the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
Om Prakash Chautala
Om Prakash Chautala, former Chief Minister of Haryana, found himself entangled in a corruption scandal pertaining to teachers’ recruitment in the state in the early 2000s. Accusations against him regarding irregularities and corrupt conduct in the selection procedures. In 2013, Om Prakash Chautala and his son Ajay faced convictions on multiple counts, including cheating and forgery, resulting in both receiving 10-year prison terms. Despite pursuing appeals, their convictions remained upheld by both the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court in 2015.
Madhu Koda
Former Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda was jailed in 2009 due to corruption charges that surfaced during his tenure. Accusations against him ranged from money laundering to amassing disproportionate assets. His arrest came a year after his tenure ended in 2008. Koda was implicated in a mining scandal, accused of accepting bribes in exchange for granting mining contracts. He and his associates allegedly amassed over Rs 4,000 crore through illegal routes. Koda secured release on bail in 2013, yet his properties worth Rs 144 crore were seized in connection with a money laundering case. In 2017, he faced conviction and was sentenced to three years in prison, accompanied by a fine of Rs 25 lakh.