New Delhi. The legal team of Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party National Coordinator Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday objected to the affidavit filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Supreme Court against his interim bail. Terming the ED affidavit as a gross disregard of legal procedures, it has been said that the affidavit was filed without the permission of the Supreme Court and was issued at a time when the final hearing of the matter is to be held in the apex court tomorrow (Friday).
Earlier, the ED had filed an affidavit against Guruwar in the Supreme Court on the issue of interim bail to Kejriwal in the money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam and said that the right to campaign in elections is neither a fundamental right nor a constitutional right. . This affidavit was filed at a time when the Supreme Court will give its verdict on the issue of Kejriwal’s interim bail on Friday.
Debate was going on in the Supreme Court, suddenly SG Tushar Mehta said – ‘If Kejriwal would not have been arrested…’
In a new affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the ED said that there are many instances where politicians contested elections while in judicial custody and some even won, but were never granted interim bail for election campaigning.
Right to campaign is neither a fundamental right nor constitutional: ED
ED said, ‘No leader has been granted interim bail for election campaign, even if he is not contesting the election. Even if a candidate contesting elections is in custody, he is not given interim bail even for his own campaign. It is relevant to keep in mind that the right to campaign for elections is neither a fundamental right, nor a constitutional, nor even a legal right.’
The High Court had on April 9 legalized Kejriwal’s arrest and said the ED was left with ‘very little option’ after repeatedly issuing summons and Kejriwal refusing to join the investigation.
The case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and implementation of the Excise Policy of the Delhi Government for 2021-22. This policy has been canceled.
Tags: Arvind kejriwal, Delhi liquor scam, Enforcement directorate, Supreme Court
FIRST PUBLISHED: May 10, 2024, 03:50 IST