NEW DELHI, Apr 9: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise scam.
“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.
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Besides his arrest, Kejriwal, who is currently in judicial custody, also challenged his subsequent remand in ED custody in the case.
The matter pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22 that was later scrapped.
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.
He was sent to judicial custody in the case on April 1 after he was produced in the trial court on expiry of ED custody.
Kejriwal, dismissing the corruption allegations against him as a politically motivated plot, has contested his custody by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Subsequently, he has been remanded to judicial custody until April 15 and is presently confined in Tihar jail.
During the April 3 proceedings in the high court, Kejriwal raised concerns about the “timing” of his arrest. The Chief Minister argued that his apprehension violated the fundamental principles of the Constitution, disrupting fair competition in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
In response to Kejriwal’s plea, the ED, labeling him as the “mastermind” behind the alleged scandal, opposed his appeal, stressing that the law applies equally to him as it does to an ordinary citizen.
“The common man faces incarceration for wrongdoing, why should a Chief Minister be immune from arrest? Can one plunder the nation with impunity just because elections are near? Is resisting arrest deemed an infringement of constitutional integrity?” the ED contended.
Kejriwal had previously asserted his innocence, claiming a lack of concrete evidence linking him to the purported scandal. However, the agency maintains it has traced the financial transactions involved.
Kejriwal was apprehended by the central agency on March 21 following the high court’s refusal to shield him from coercive measures, sparking strong reactions from the opposition. On April 1, he was remanded to custody for two weeks following 11 days of ED custody.
The liquor policy, initially introduced to revamp the liquor industry in Delhi, was annulled subsequent to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena ordering an investigation into alleged irregularities. The ED alleges that the policy facilitated substantial profit margins, with purported bribe money funnelled into AAP’s electoral campaigns. (Agencies)
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