Arvind Kejriwal: Delhi High Court Reserves Order In Plea Against Arrest By ED
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has challenged his arrest by Enforcement Directorate and remand in alleged liquor policy case.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday reserved its order on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's plea challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the alleged liquor policy scam.
The anti-money laundering agency had opposed the AAP convener's petition challenging his arrest in the case.
The matter was heard on Wednesday by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma. The court had refused to grant interim relief to the jailed AAP leader in the last hearing on March 27, giving time to ED till April 2 to file a reply on his petition.
The ED on Tuesday told the high court that Kejriwal was the "kingpin" and the "key conspirator" of the 'excise scam'. In its reply filed to the petition, the agency said there were "reasons to believe on the basis of material in possession" that Kejriwal was "guilty of the offence of money laundering".
Kejriwal is involved in the use of proceeds of crime thus generated in the Goa election campaign of the AAP, of which he is the convenor and the ultimate decision-maker, it added.
Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing on behalf of Kejriwal on Wednesday, argued the timing of arrest suggests a deliberate attempt to disrupt the electoral process and create an uneven playing field ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Regarding the proceeds of crime, Singhvi questioned the jurisdiction of the PMLA in cases where there are no proceeds of crime.
The Aam Aadmi Party chief was arrested on March 21, hours after the high court refused to grant him protection from coercive action by the anti-money laundering agency. The leader was subsequently remanded to the ED's custody till March 28 by a Delhi court.
The case pertains to the alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021–22, which was later scrapped.
(This is a developing story.)
