By : Shrishti Mehra
On March 21, weeks before the Lok Sabha elections, the Enforcement Directorate arrested Arvind Kejriwal.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to respond to questions raised by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s lawyer about the timing of the AAP chief’s detention.
The Supreme Court stated that liberty is “very exceedingly important” when hearing Arvind Kejriwal’s appeal against his arrest in the Delhi excise policy issue. It directed ED’s lawyer to respond to Kejriwal’s question on why he was jailed right before the Lok Sabha elections.
On March 21, the Enforcement Directorate arrested Arvind Kejriwal.
“Liberty is really vital; you cannot deny it. The last question is about the date of the arrest, which they (Arvind Kejriwal’s lawyer) have brought out as being close to the general election,” Justice Sanjiv Khanna informed ASG SV Raju.
The court has urged the agency to respond by Friday afternoon.
Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest was affirmed earlier this month by the Delhi High Court, which stated that the agency had little choice beca
use the former had not been cooperating with the investigation.
Prior to the court’s observation, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, standing for Arvind Kejriwal today, stated that MP Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy (MSR) was coerced to submit a statement against the Delhi chief minister in exchange for bail for his son Raghav, according to Live Law.
He claimed that MSR had broken down as a result of his son’s continued incarceration and issued a statement implicating Kejriwal.
Singhvi claimed that MSR contradicted his earlier account, and Raghav was given bail the next day.
Singhvi noted that Arvind Kejriwal’s aide, Vijay Nair, has been accused of taking kickbacks. In November of 2022, he was arrested. Kejriwal was apprehended in March 2024. “No explanation for not arresting during this time,” the officer stated.
“Raghav first made no accusations…his wife attempted suicide. He applied for interim bail, but the special judge denied it. His maternal grandmother had fallen and was admitted to the intensive care unit. The High Court of Delhi granted him interim bail. The ED challenged it,” Singhvi told the publication.
He added the Enforcement Directorate did not contest Raghav’s bail following his father’s statement.
Please read between the lines…”There is a farce going on in terms of approvership,” Singhvi continued.
The Enforcement Directorate has accused AAP officials of taking ₹100 crore in payments from the South Group, a group of politicians and businesspeople who influenced the now-scrapped Delhi liquor legislation to benefit their economic interests.
On Monday, Kejriwal’s lawyer, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, claimed the former’s refusal to comply with the agency’s summonses could not be used to justify his incarceration. He claimed that the agency lacked the necessary materials to deprive him of his liberty.
“You (ED) have to demonstrate the necessity of arrest based on material available with the investigating agency,” Singhvi told reporters.
“The ED’s authority to arrest does not imply an obligation to arrest.” There must be a reason to believe; there must be new information or a link that directly connects Kejriwal to something. They arrested him (Kejriwal) when the model code of conduct was implemented. He was neither accused or suspected until March 2024,” he stated.