New Delhi, . The Delhi High Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the excise policy case.
A bench of Justice Swarnakanta Sharma, along with senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, and Additional Solicitor General S.V., representing the ED, After listening to Raju’s arguments, the decision was reserved.
During the hearing, Singhvi said that the arrest of the AAP national convenor soon after the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) was meant to prevent his participation in democratic activities and weaken his political party.
He said there is no material to show that the proceeds of crime are in Kejriwal’s possession.
On the other hand, ASG Raju said that the ED investigation is in the initial stage and prayed for dismissal of the petition filed by Kejriwal saying that it is a bogus argument if an accused person involved in politics should not be arrested during elections. will be.
He said, “Suppose a political person commits a murder two days before the elections, does that mean he cannot be arrested? The criminals should be arrested and put in jail.”
The ED has termed Chief Minister Kejriwal as the “kingpin and key conspirator” of the alleged excise policy scam in connivance with other Delhi government ministers, AAP leaders and other persons.
In his petition, Kejriwal argued that his arrest and the remand order passed by the trial court were illegal and he was entitled to be immediately released from custody. The ED had arrested Kejriwal on March 21 after questioning him for over two hours at his official residence in Delhi. Earlier, the Delhi High Court had refused to grant any interim relief saying that while deciding a case it is its duty to hear both the parties fairly keeping in mind the principles of natural justice.
