New Delhi: After the legal representative of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and senior advocate, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, questioned the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) “delaying tactics”, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma’s bench in the Delhi High Court deferred the hearing of the matter for later on Wednesday.
The court is hearing Kejriwal’s challenge against his arrest by the ED in the alleged liquor policy scam.
During the proceedings, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, representing the ED, said the petition of Arvind Kejriwal was received on Tuesday and sought three weeks’ time to file a response before the court.
In rebuttal, Singhvi highlighted the urgency, emphasising that the petition had been filed promptly on March 23 and subsequent amendments were made swiftly to rectify any deficiencies.
Asserting the urgency of the matter, Singhvi urged the court to address the foundational issues of a remand to Arvind Kejriwal without further delay. Kejriwal’s petition contends that his arrest infringes upon his human rights and challenges the ED’s failure to substantiate the alleged wrongdoing, labelling the action as politically motivated.
Justice Sharma indicated a swift resolution, expressing intent to gather responses and schedule a hearing for interim relief. Notably, Arvind Kejriwal had initially sought recourse in the Supreme Court following his arrest, only to retract the petition with plans to contest the remand proceedings in the trial court before revisiting the apex court with a revised plea.
The ED’s case, stemming from a 2022 Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into irregularities within the liquor policy, implicates Arvind Kejriwal as a central figure. The investigation, initiated on a complaint by Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, alleges deliberate policy loopholes benefiting select licensees.
AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, alongside Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s K Kavitha, have also been arrested in connection to the case. Denying all allegations, opposition figures have accused the central government, led by the BJP, of leveraging investigative agencies for partisan objectives.
In response, AAP has criticised the timing of the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal, insinuating a ploy to impede his involvement in the upcoming Lok Sabha election campaign. Despite the legal entanglement, the party maintains Kejriwal’s steadfast leadership as the Chief Minister of Delhi.
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