Arvind Kejriwal Arrest: No Relief From Delhi High Court, Next Hearing On April 3
Kejriwal has challenged in Delhi High Court his arrest by the ED in a money laundering case related to the now-scrapped liquor policy.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will continue to remain in custody, as the Delhi High Court did not grant any immediate relief to the jailed AAP leader on a plea challenging his arrest in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma gave Enforcement Directorate time till April 2 to file a reply to Kejriwal's interim plea seeking release from the agency's custody.
The matter will be heard on April 3 and no adjournment shall be granted then, the court said.
Kejriwal had challenged his arrest by the ED in a money laundering case related to the now-scrapped liquor policy.
Appearing for the ED, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju said the agency got a copy of Kejriwal's petition only yesterday and sought three weeks' time to file a detailed reply.
Senior Advocate AM Singhvi, appearing for the AAP leader, alleged that the request to file a response was a delay tactic.
The court observed that it will be unfair to not give an opportunity to the Directorate of Enforcement to rebut the submissions made by Kejriwal’s counsel by way of filing of a detailed response.
Kejriwal has said in his petition that his arrest violated his human rights and that the ED has failed to prove the crime. "Arrest without interrogation shows that the current action is politically motivated," he has said, demanding immediate release from jail and the cancellation of remand.
The Aam Aadmi Party chief was arrested on March 21, hours after the high court refused to grant him protection from coercive action by the anti-money laundering agency. The leader was subsequently remanded to the ED's custody till March 28 by a Delhi court.
The case pertains to the alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021–22, which was later scrapped.
The Delhi CM's wife, Sunita Kejriwal, said her husband would do a "big expose" in court on Thursday and stressed that no money was found in multiple ED raids.