Read Time: 06 minutes

Synopsis

While granting interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today in the Delhi liquor scam case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate, the Supreme Court has said it is doubtful whether the court can direct an elected leader to step down.

"While we do not give any direction, since we are doubtful whether the court can direct an elected leader to step down or not function as the Chief Minister or as a Minister, we leave it to Arvind Kejriwal to take a call...", a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta has observed.

As the questions of Kejriwal's arrest and remand under PMLA by the ED have been referred to a larger bench for consideration, the issue of a minister stepping down has also been left with the larger Bench, which if deems appropriate, can frame question(s) and decide the conditions that can be imposed by the court in such cases.

Top Court has referred the following questions of law for consideration by a larger Bench:

(a) Whether the “need and necessity to arrest” is a separate ground to challenge the order of arrest passed in terms of Section 19(1) of the PML Act?
(b) Whether the “need and necessity to arrest” refers to the satisfaction of formal parameters to arrest and take a person into custody, or it relates to other personal grounds and reasons regarding necessity to arrest a person in the facts and circumstances of the said case?
(c) If questions (a) and (b) are answered in the affirmative, what are the parameters and facts that are to be taken into consideration by the court while examining the question of “need and necessity to arrest”?

In May, the Enforcement directorate had informed Supreme Court that personal chats between Arvind Kejriwal and hawala operators have been discovered by them.

It is ED's case that Kejriwal had demanded 100 crores during Goa elections which was later utilized through hawala transactions.

While granting relief to Kejriwal earlier too, on May 10, Supreme Court of India had granted interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal allowing him to campaign for Aam Aadmi Party in the General Elections, 2024.

Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 late evening. He has been in ED's custody since. ED had conducted searches at Delhi Chief Minister's residence following the Delhi High Court's decision to deny him protection from coercive action in an excise policy-related money laundering case.

The case against Kejriwal & allies involves allegations of corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of Delhi's excise policy for 2021-22, which was later scrapped. 

Meanwhile, upon arrest, outside Kejriwal's residence, a crowd gathered, including AAP MLAs and party leaders, protesting the ED's actions. AAP leaders criticized the BJP and ED, alleging political conspiracy and misuse of power to target Kejriwal.

Case Title: ARVIND KEJRIWAL vs. DIRECTORATE OF ENFORCEMENT