On November 21, the Delhi High Court refused to stay the trial court proceedings against Arvind Kejriwal in the money laundering case. The Court issued a notice and sought a response from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the former Delhi Chief Minister's plea. 

Kejriwal sought to set aside the trial court's order, arguing that the cognisance of the chargesheet had been taken by the special court without the necessary sanction for his prosecution, which was required since he was a public servant at the time of the alleged offence. 

However, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the ED, submitted that the requisite sanction had been obtained to prosecute Kejriwal, and an affidavit would be filed in this regard.

In addition to challenging the trial court's July 9 order, which took cognisance of the chargesheet, Kejriwal sought the quashing of all proceedings in the case. His plea contended that the prosecution was unlawful as it was initiated without obtaining the mandatory sanction under Section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which is required when allegations relate to acts performed by a public servant in their official capacity. 

Section 197 of the CrPC stipulates that no court shall take cognisance of an offence committed by a public servant unless prior sanction has been obtained from the government.

On November 12, the High Court had also sought the ED's response on another plea filed by Kejriwal, challenging the summons issued to him in connection with the ED's complaint in the money laundering case. The Court, however, declined to stay the trial court proceedings in the criminal case at that time.

While Kejriwal was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court on July 12 in the money laundering case, he was granted bail in the CBI case on September 13.

Both the CBI and the ED allege that irregularities occurred in the modification of the excise policy, with undue favours granted to license holders. The Delhi government introduced the policy on November 17, 2021, and scrapped it by the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruption.

The money laundering case stems from a CBI investigation triggered by a probe into alleged irregularities in the excise policy implementation, following a recommendation by Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena.