By – Prakarsh Kastwar
The Delhi High Court denied Arvind Kejriwal’s petition contesting his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the excise policy issue.
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri criticized Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday after the Delhi High Court denied the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor’s appeal against his imprisonment.
“It is high time Arvind Kejriwal took moral responsibility and resigned as Delhi chief minister,” Puri.
“The Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued nine summons to Kejriwal between November 2023 and March 2024.” Puri stated that he had been “evading” these warnings for six months under various “excuses.”
Puri stated that the law has caught up with Kejriwal and that the AAP leader’s continued tenure as CM behind bars is a “exercise in shamelessness,” adding that he should resign and let someone else run the Delhi government.
Earlier in the day, the high court rejected Kejriwal’s plea and stated that the ED has significant evidence that led to his detention.
The court declared that Kejriwal’s detention and remand were lawful, citing the fact that “ED was able to trace enough material in the form of the statement of approver, Hawala dealer, and AAP [Aam Aadmi Party] candidate in the Goa election.”
The Supreme Court will hear a case against the high court judgment, according to the Aam Aadmi Party.
“We appreciate the institution of the high court, but we respectfully submit that we disagree with its order and will appeal to the Supreme Court. “The so-called excise policy scam is the biggest political conspiracy to finish off the party and Kejriwal,” Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said at a briefing following the high court’s decision.
On March 21, just hours after the Supreme Court denied Kejriwal’s request for immunity from the federal anti-money laundering agency’s coercive measures, the ED arrested him.
After his ED custody expired and he was produced in trial court, he was placed under judicial custody on April 1. Right now, he is being imprisoned at the Tihar jail.