Delhi Excise Policy: High Court to review Arvind Kejriwal's challenge against arrest and ED remand tomorrow
PTC News Desk: The Delhi High Court is set to examine a plea tomorrow filed by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, contesting his recent arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and subsequent six-day remand in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged liquor policy scam.
Scheduled for hearing before Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma at 10:30 am, the plea asserts the illegality of Kejriwal's arrest and remand, advocating for his immediate release, as per the legal team of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Kejriwal's apprehension occurred on March 21, with the trial court subsequently extending his custody to the ED until March 28. The plea argues against the validity of these actions, citing them as grounds for Kejriwal's release.
Following his arrest by the central investigative agency, Kejriwal was presented before the trial court, a move that came after a Delhi High Court division bench declined to issue interim protection against coercive measures.
Kejriwal had ignored nine summons issued by the ED, a fact compounded by similar accusations levied against AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, who currently remain in judicial custody. In response to his arrest, Kejriwal promptly petitioned the Supreme Court, though this action was retracted earlier today.
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Additionally, Kejriwal had previously contested the summons issued by the ED through the Delhi High Court, coupled with a plea for interim protection, with the case slated for April 22. Earlier complaints filed by the ED in Delhi's Rouse Avenue Courts alleged Kejriwal's non-compliance with the summonses, which he dismissed as baseless.
The ED contends that the excise policy implicated in the case aimed to unfairly benefit select private entities with a 12 percent wholesale profit margin, a provision not recorded in official minutes of Group of Ministers meetings. Kejriwal is portrayed as the central figure in this alleged conspiracy, according to the ED. Further assertions by the ED point to a coordinated effort led by Vijay Nair and others, in collusion with the South Group, to grant disproportionate profits to wholesalers, purportedly at the behest of Kejriwal and Sisodia.
The developments in Kejriwal's legal battle against the ED underscore the escalating tensions surrounding the case, with the Delhi High Court poised to adjudicate on the matter, potentially reshaping the trajectory of this high-profile investigation.
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(Inputs from agencies)
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