Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal moved high court, challenging his “illegal” arrest and subsequent remand by Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. While the plea sought urgent hearing, sources in the HC indicated that the matter will be listed in due course, on or after March 27 when HC reopens after Holi vacation. Earlier, a trial court had remanded him in ED’s custody till March 28 “for his detailed and sustained interrogation”.
In his plea, Kejriwal, who was apprehended in a swift move by ED last week, contended that his arrest and remand were illegal and that he was entitled to be released from custody immediately. The petition said it was raising “an issue of liberty and exercise of arbitrary powers by a central agency in a federal setup in the midst of general election 2024”. ED had arrested Kejriwal hours after the HC refused to grant him protection from coercive action by the central agency. This is the third time in a week that the CM has knocked on the doors of the high court.
Earlier, Kejriwal had moved court for quashing and setting aside all proceedings, including the ED summonses issued against him. In that petition, Kejriwal said he is a “vocal critic” of the ruling party, an opposition leader and a partner in the INDIA bloc, and ED, being under Centre’s control, had been “weaponised”. After the court sought ED’s stand on that plea, but denied any immediate relief, the CM’s legal team approached court again the very next day seeking a direction to ED that “no coercive steps” be taken so that he can appear and answer the summons. However, the court declined to intervene at that stage, triggering his arrest. The case against Kejriwal pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing Delhi govt’s excise policy for 2021-22 which was later scrapped. Top AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh are in judicial custody in the case. Kejriwal’s name has been mentioned multiple times in the chargesheets filed by ED.
India protests German remarks
India lodged a “strong protest” with Germany against its foreign office spokesperson’s remarks on the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal, accusing Berlin of undermining the independence of Indian judiciary with its “biased assumptions” about what is an internal matter of India. Calling for a fair trial for Kejriwal in the Delhi excise policy scam case, the German foreign ministry had reminded Indian authorities that presumption of innocence is central to the rule of law. The ministry of external affairs (MEA) summoned the German Deputy Chief of Mission in New Delhi and conveyed a strong protest against their foreign office spokesperson Sebastian Fischer’s comments on India’s internal affairs. Fischer made the comment asked about the arrest at a govt press conference.