New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has taken his case to the Supreme Court, challenging the Delhi High Court's decision to uphold his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an alleged money laundering case related to the excise scam.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi presented Kejriwal's appeal to the Supreme Court, challenging his arrest by the ED and his subsequent remand in the excise policy case. Singhvi, seeking an urgent listing of Kejriwal's appeal against the Delhi High Court's judgement, informed a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud that the arrest was based on a document that was not relied upon and was withheld from them. The CJI-led bench instructed Singhvi to send an email and stated that they would review it.
On Tuesday, Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party termed his arrest in the liquor policy case as the "biggest political conspiracy" and expressed their polite disagreement with the High Court's verdict, stating their intention to challenge it in the Supreme Court.
Kejriwal's counsel, Rishikesh Kumar, spoke to a news agency on Tuesday, stating that the High Court's order was open to challenge in the Supreme Court. He added that once the detailed order was uploaded, they would challenge it in the Supreme Court. "We have challenged the unlawful arrest of Arvind Kejriwal. The High Court, in its findings, stated that the remand order is legal and that they had grounds for arrest. These were the findings of the High Court in today's decision. We are waiting for the order to be released. Once the detailed order is uploaded, we will challenge it in the Supreme Court as soon as possible," he told the agency on Tuesday.
The Delhi High Court had dismissed Kejriwal's plea challenging his arrest and remand in the case. In its verdict, the High Court stated that "this court believes that the accused's arrest and remand must be examined according to the law and not based on the timing of elections. Kejriwal's challenge to the timing of the arrest before the General elections, in the absence of any mala fide on the part of the ED, is not sustainable." The court further stated that there are sufficient submissions which "prima-facie" indicate that Kejriwal was "allegedly personally involved" in the formulation of the excise policy.
