New Delhi. The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to interfere in the arrest of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the excise policy case. Along with this, the court issued a notice to the investigating agency on Kejriwal’s petition against the ED arrest. The next hearing of the case will be on April 3.
Meanwhile, during the hearing, there was a heated argument between Kejriwal’s lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, appearing for the ED. Kejriwal urged the Delhi High Court to order his immediate release from ED custody in the money laundering case related to excise policy. Kejriwal argued that his arrest at the time of elections is against the basic structure of the Constitution.
Know what Singhvi said in the court
At the time of arrest: Singhvi said, a sitting Chief Minister is arrested at the time of elections. He said, “Democracy talks about equal opportunity. This means free and fair elections. If you do anything to make the level playing field unequal, you are attacking infrastructure. The purpose of this arrest on the occasion of elections is to stop that person from campaigning and to shock the party, and thirdly, you score some points even before the first vote is cast.” He further said, “Of course, Chief Ministers can be arrested, but the question is about the timing of the arrest.”
The senior lawyer said that the grounds of arrest have been challenged and there are several ‘serious issues’ which need to be decided immediately by the High Court. Singhvi said, “Democracy is also included. The basic structure (of the Constitution) is also included. If the arrest is illegal then even an hour spent in custody is too long.”
On ED’s plea for three weeks’ time: Singhvi said that this request is completely malicious. He said, “Even one day’s imprisonment is an issue of fundamental rights. What reply can ED file? “This cannot be separate from the grounds for arrest.”
On Prevention of Money Laundering Act: Singhvi said there are three things in Section 19: “material in possession”, “reasons to believe” and “guilty”. He said, “These are important conditions for arrest. Before any arrest can be made, these conditions must be met on the files and papers. This limit has been deliberately kept high due to the relevant provisions under Section 45 of PMLA, which sets a very high limit for bail. So, there is a lack of balance here.”
He said, “These things go towards the basic point of clearly demonstrating the need for arrest. Singhvi said in the court, “You have the power to arrest, but it should be in accordance with the conditions under Section 19. The question is why there was a need to arrest me today.”
On ED’s non-cooperation issue Giving clarification, Singhvi said, “They say that I have not cooperated. Non-cooperation is one of the most misused phrases since the activation of ED. Can you say that I will arrest you because I am exercising my right against self-incrimination? This will directly affect Articles 20 and 21 of the Constitution. Suppose I say that I do not know or that my memory is very weak. The law says I am arresting you because you are not incriminating yourself.”
Singhvi said that the petition for ED’s custodial interrogation was based on non-cooperation. He said, “They say that they have to be interrogated regarding their role. I say, if you want to investigate me for my role two months before the elections, isn’t that directly against the need to arrest?”
what did the center say
Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the ED, sought three weeks’ time to file its reply in the main case and also said that he wanted to respond to Kejriwal’s plea for interim relief. He also objected to the appearance of many lawyers on behalf of Kejriwal. He said, “Even the ED will request that five people be heard for the ED. You want a level playing field, I am saying, there should be a level playing field here too.”
In such important cases, he said, “People often play to the gallery, so there has to be a break out.” When the court said it would issue notice in the main case, Raju replied, “Even on interim relief, I have the right to file a reply. If I am not entitled to file a reply, there is no need. Listen to me. “I cannot be deprived of my right to file a reply.”
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Kejriwal has demanded his immediate release in view of his arrest and subsequent sending to ED custody. ED arrested him on March 21. After this, a Delhi court sent him to ED custody till March 28.
The ED had arrested Kejriwal just hours after the High Court refused to grant him protection from punitive action in the money laundering case. 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 was later canceled.
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Tags: Arvind kejriwal, DELHI HIGH COURT, Enforcement directorate
FIRST PUBLISHED: March 27, 2024, 19:22 IST