Excise policy case: No interim relief for Kejriwal; Delhi HC issues notice to ED

 Delhi CM to be produced before court on Thursday as his remand ends

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal being taken away from his residence after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21, 2024 | PTI

PTI, March 27, 2024 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to give interim relief to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate on his petition seeking immediate release.

Kejriwal, who was arrested by the ED on March 21 in a money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy scam, had moved the high court challenging his arrest and subsequent remand to the ED’s custody.

During the hearing on Wednesday, Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju appearing for the ED submitted that Kejriwal’s counsel had not given a copy of the petition to the agency. The chief minister moved the petition on March 23, but the agency got the copy only on March 26, he said.

Following this, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said she would issue notice to the agency and posted the matter for hearing on April 3.

"The Directorate of Enforcement will ensure that replies are filed to the main petition as well as the application for interim release of the petitioner by 02.04.2024 and copies of the same are provided in digitized form as well as hard copy to the learned counsel for the petitioner," the order said.

Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, contended the arrest of a sitting chief minister on the cusp of elections was against the basic structure of the Constitution.

"Object of the arrest was not to find material but to disable me and my party. My prayer is, release me now," he argued.

Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party leader’s remand will end on Thursday and he is likely to be produced before the Rouse Avenue Courts.

The ED can either seek an extension of the chief minister's custodial remand or seek court directions for sending him into judicial custody. 

The agency has accused Kejriwal of “being involved in the entire conspiracy of the Delhi liquor scam, in drafting and implementation of the policy, for favouring and benefiting the quid pro receiving kickbacks and eventually using part of the proceeds of crime generated out of the scheduled offence in the election campaign for the Goa Assembly elections”.