Delhi High Court Denies Urgent Hearing for Arvind Kejriwal’s Plea Against ED Custody
The Delhi High Court has declined to expedite the listing of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s petition challenging his arrest and detention by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the excise policy case.
Kejriwal was apprehended by the central law enforcement agency on Thursday and subsequently remanded to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate until March 28 by a Delhi court on Friday.
The leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) moved the High Court on Saturday after withdrawing a petition filed in the Supreme Court contesting his arrest.
The High Court is scheduled to hear the case on March 27, the first working day following the Holi holidays.
In his petition, Kejriwal contends that both his arrest and the lower court’s remand order are unlawful, as per India Today’s report. He asserts his right to immediate release. The Enforcement Directorate had asserted in the Rouse Avenue Court on Friday that there was substantial evidence indicating Kejriwal’s prima facie guilt.
Possibility of CM’s Office Operating from Jail
AAP leader and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann stated on Saturday that if Kejriwal is incarcerated, the party will seek court permission to establish his office within the prison, according to PTI.
Mann argued, “There is no law prohibiting a government from functioning while the head is in jail.” He added, “The law permits him to operate from jail until proven guilty. We will petition the Supreme Court and High Court to establish an office in the jail premises, and the Delhi government will continue to function.”
When questioned about the impact of Kejriwal’s arrest on the party’s campaigning efforts for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Mann asserted that no one can replace the Delhi Chief Minister’s position.
Conversely, Bharatiya Janata Party’s Delhi unit chief Virendra Sachdeva, along with MPs Manoj Tiwari and Harsh Vardhan, among others, demanded Kejriwal’s resignation as Chief Minister during a sit-in protest, as per Hindustan Times.
“We’ve heard of gangs operating from prisons, but this is the first instance of witnessing a government being run from behind bars,” remarked Tiwari at the protest.
Earlier in the day, Sunita Kejriwal, a former Indian Revenue Service officer and the spouse of the Delhi Chief Minister, read out a statement from her husband on social media.
In the statement, the AAP leader asserted his commitment to continue serving the nation’s interests from within confinement. He declared, “No prison can detain me for long.”
Case Involving Liquor Policy
The Enforcement Directorate’s investigation stems from a First Information Report lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation, alleging irregularities in the Delhi government’s now-defunct liquor excise policy.
Implemented in November 2021, the policy was rescinded on July 30, 2022, following a recommendation for an inquiry into purported policy irregularities by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena.
The Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate have accused the AAP administration of altering Delhi’s liquor excise policy to secure a 12% profit margin for wholesalers and an almost 185% profit margin for retailers.
Additionally, the Enforcement Directorate contends that members of a “South Group” funnelled at least Rs 100 crore in kickbacks to Aam Aadmi Party leaders via businessman Vijay Nair, who is presently in custody.
Just hours before Kejriwal’s arrest on Thursday, electoral bond data released by the Election Commission revealed that a company associated with another individual implicated in the same case, P Sarath Chandra Reddy, contributed Rs 5 crore to the BJP in 2022, merely five days after his detention. An additional Rs 25 crore was donated to the BJP after Reddy became an approver in the case.
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