Read Time: 05 minutes
Court was told today that Kejriwal's case was a very unusual matter, and not because he was the Chief Minister, to which the bench asked the senior counsel to reserve his arguments for the hearing
A division bench of the Supreme Court on Monday issued notice in Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's plea challenging the Delhi High Court's dismissal of his petition contesting his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the liquor policy scam.
Court however refused to list the case for an early hearing after a request for the same was made by Senior Advocate AM Singhvi.
"The first round of elections is beginning from April 18, they are keeping me from campaigning", Singhvi told the bench.
In response, a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said, "WE CANNOT HELP IT.. Notice returnable on April 29".
"We could have easily given a later date..", added Justice Khanna.
Last week, the Supreme Court had considered it fit to follow protocol in hearing Kejriwal, as he approached the top court for an urgent hearing against Delhi High Court's judgment.
CJI DY Chandrachud led bench had then told the senior lawyer representing him to “Send an Email”, instead of hearing the case on a mentioning.
The High Court prima facie opined that 'Kejriwal played an active role in concealing'. Furthermore, the court emphasized ED's investigation that suggested Kejriwal’s involvement in both his individual capacity and in his role as the national convener of AAP.
In response to Kejriwal's accusations of questioning the legitimacy and accuracy of the approver's testimonies, the bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma asserted that 'doubting or casting aspersions on the statements of an approver is tantamount to undermining the integrity of the judicial process itself'.
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
Please Login or Register
