Arvind Kejriwal gets no relief from arrest as Supreme Court won't hear his plea before Monday
Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21, hours after the high court refused to grant him protection from coercive action by the federal anti-money laundering agency.
Delhi liquor scam case: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court order rejecting his plea challenging arrest in the alleged liquor policy scam case. However, the Supreme Court said that there won't be any special bench to hear Kejriwal's plea before Monday. A while ago, Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud asked the Delhi Chief Minister to mail him the plea documents.
The move by Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) convenor has come after the Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed former's petition challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the trial court order remanding him to the agency's custody.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, who presided over the case noted ED's submission that Kejriwal was in possession of enough material which had led them to arrest him.
"The files and material placed before us reveal that the mandate of law was followed by the ED. The trial court order is not a two-line order. The statements with ED are of hawala dealers as well as AAP candidates in Goa elections," the court noted.
Respectfully don't agree with High Court's order, says AAP
On Tuesday, hours after the High Court's decision, the AAP said the "so-called excise policy scam" is the "biggest political conspiracy" to finish off the party and Kejriwal.
AAP Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj in a presser said, "We respect the institution of the High Court but we respectfully submit that we do not agree with its order and will move the Supreme Court against it."
He claimed that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have failed to recover even one rupee of illegal money in the "so-called excise policy case".
"The entire matter is not related to money laundering, rather it's the biggest political conspiracy of the country.
It's a conspiracy to crush and finish off Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and AAP governments in Delhi and Punjab," he said.
Bharadwaj said they are hopeful that the Supreme Court will provide relief to Kejriwal in the same way it granted bail to AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh in the case.
No relief for Kejriwal from High Court
The Delhi High Court has dismissed Arvind Kejriwal's plea against his arrest in the liquor scam case.
"The court is of the view that the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal was not in contravention of legal provisions. The remand can't be held to be illegal," said Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma while delivering the verdict.
Besides his arrest, Kejriwal, who is currently in judicial custody, also challenged his subsequent remand in ED custody.
The matter pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government's now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22.
With inputs from agencies
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