Arvind Kejriwal remains lodged in Tihar jail till April 15. (file)
New Delhi:
The Delhi High Court will today decide on a petition filed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal challenging the Enforcement Directorate’s arrest in a money laundering case related to the alleged liquor policy scam. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma will pronounce the order at 2:30 pm.
The AAP boss, who termed the corruption case against him a political conspiracy, also challenged his ED detention. He was later remanded in judicial custody till April 15 and is still lodged in Tihar Jail.
At a High Court hearing on April 3, Mr Kejriwal questioned the “timing” of his arrest. The Chief Minister said his arrest violated the basic structure of the Constitution as it disrupted the level playing field in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Calling Mr Kejriwal the “mastermind” in the scam, the ED opposed his petition and said the law applies equally to him and “amam admi“.
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“hi man If he committed a crime he would have to go to jail but because you are the chief minister you cannot be arrested? Are you going to rob the country but no one can touch you because the election is coming? You said your arrest would violate the basic structure? What type of basic structure is this? ” ED argued.
The chief minister had earlier claimed there was no real evidence of his involvement in the scam, but the agency insisted it had traced the money trail.
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Kejriwal was arrested by central agencies on March 21 after the high court refused to provide protection from coercive action to Kejriwal, leading to a backlash from the opposition camp. On April 1, he was sentenced to two weeks in jail after 11 days in ED custody.
The liquor policy was introduced to overhaul Delhi’s liquor industry but was scrapped after Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena ordered a probe into alleged irregularities in the policy. The education ministry argued that the policy provided high profit margins and slush funds were allegedly used to fund AAP’s election campaigns.
