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Court was further informed today that in the prosecution's complaint filed today AAM AADMI PARTY has been made an accused, both vicariously and independently.
In a major development, the Enforcement directorate has informed Supreme Court today that personal chats between Arvind Kejriwal and hawala operators have been discovered by them.
"We have just arrested the hawala operator..Kejriwal had destroyed many phones, recovery has been made from hawala operators now..", Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta.
This revelation was made when Justice Khanna asked the ED to put on record all material relied by them post their judgment in Manish Sisodia's case.
"Now we have found chats between Arvind Kejriwal and the hawala operator...personal chats..", ASG SV Raju told the bench.
Senior Advocate AM Singhvi objected to the ED's submission saying, "This is unfair..this information is being given now at 4:30 PM, this is suppression of evidence".
It is ED's case that Kejriwal had demanded 100 crores during Goa elections which was later utilized through hawala transactions.
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.
Yesterday, Enforcement Directorate informed court that post his release on interim bail, Kejriwal made statements in public which are a "slap on the system".
A division bench hearing Kejriwal's plea against ED arrest was told, "Court said he will not discuss his role in the case. He is saying, "they say I have to go back to jail in 20 days, if you vote for broom then I will not have to go to jail..."."
In response, Justice Sanjiv Khanna had clarified, "That is his assumption, he will have to surrender...our order is very clear...we have fixed the timeline when he will have to surrender..we are not making any exceptions to anybody, what we felt was correct, we have ordered..let's confine ourselves to legal issues..".
Notably, the interim order said, "He will not interact with any of the witnesses and/or have access to any official files connected with the case...".
The granting of interim relief to the Delhi CM saw a lot of resistance from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju who were present before court on behalf of the Enforcement Directorate.
Enforcement Directorate had also filed an affidavit arguing that under Prevention of Money Laundering Act alone presently there were many politicians who are in judicial custody, and there was no reason why a special prayer for a special treatment by Kejriwal must be acceded to.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had also argued vehemently against the grant of interim bail to Kejriwal saying an impression was being created that heavens would fall if he is not allowed to campaign.
Case Title: ARVIND KEJRIWAL vs. DIRECTORATE OF ENFORCEMENT
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