NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court docket is scheduled to listen to on Monday a plea by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal difficult his arrest in a cash laundering case stemming from the alleged excise coverage rip-off. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta is more likely to hear the matter.
Kejriwal had earlier instructed the apex courtroom that his “unlawful arrest” within the case constitutes an unprecedented assault on the tenets of democracy primarily based on “free and honest elections” and “federalism”.
In a rejoinder to the Enforcement Directorate‘s (ED) reply affidavit filed on his petition difficult his arrest within the case, Kejriwal stated the mode, method and timing of his arrest simply earlier than the Lok Sabha elections when the Mannequin Code of Conduct had come into play, speaks volumes concerning the “arbitrariness” of the company.
Kejriwal claimed it’s a “classical case” of how the Centre has misused the ED and its extensive powers beneath the Prevention of Cash Laundering Act to “crush” the Aam Aadmi Celebration (AAP) and its leaders.
It claimed that the ED illegally ‘picked up’ a sitting chief minister and the nationwide convenor of one of many nationwide Opposition events, 5 days after the overall elections had been introduced and the Mannequin Code of Conduct got here into drive.
He stated a degree taking part in area, which is a pre-requisite for ‘free and honest elections’, has clearly been compromised together with his unlawful arrest.
It stated your complete foundation of Kejriwal’s arrest rests upon sure statements that are within the nature of “self-incriminating confessions” by alleged accomplices who’ve been given the immunity by the use of pardon and so forth.
“Whether or not such statements might qualify as supplies to achieve the conclusion of guilt as envisaged beneath part 19 PMLA to justify the arrest of a sitting chief minister of NCT of Delhi or a nationwide convenor of a nationwide political occasion in India within the midst of normal elections,” it requested.
Within the rejoinder, Kejriwal alleged the one goal of the ED was to obtain and procure some assertion in opposition to him and as quickly because the assertion was taken, the mission of the probe company was achieved and thereafter, the co-accused had been neither arrested nor any additional statements had been taken.
The AAP chief claimed the malicious intent of the ED in conducting the investigation was obvious from its deliberate concealment of statements made by co-accused people the place both no allegations had been made or allegations had been explicitly denied.
Kejriwal additionally stated there is no such thing as a hyperlink by any means established by the ED to say that an quantity of Rs 45 crore was transferred by the South group as superior kickback which was then utilised by the AAP within the Goa elections.
The chief minister stated the ED, in its reply affidavit filed within the apex courtroom, has stated that one of many causes which necessitated his arrest was that he didn’t stay current earlier than the investigating officer (IO) regardless of being summoned 9 occasions.
In its reply affidavit filed within the apex courtroom earlier this week, the ED has claimed that Kejriwal is the “kingpin and key conspirator” of the excise coverage rip-off and the arrest of an individual for an offence primarily based on materials can by no means violate the “idea of free and honest elections”.
The ED arrested Kejriwal on March 21 after the Delhi Excessive Court docket refused to grant him safety from coercive motion by the federal anti-money laundering company. He’s at the moment lodged in Tihar jail beneath judicial custody.
On April 15, the highest courtroom issued a discover to the ED and sought its response to Kejriwal’s plea.
The excessive courtroom had on April 9 upheld Kejriwal’s arrest within the cash laundering case, saying there was no illegality about it and that the ED was left with “little choice” after he skipped repeated summonses and refused to hitch the investigation.
The matter pertains to alleged corruption and cash laundering within the formulation and execution of the Delhi authorities’s excise coverage for 2021-22 which was later scrapped.
Kejriwal had earlier instructed the apex courtroom that his “unlawful arrest” within the case constitutes an unprecedented assault on the tenets of democracy primarily based on “free and honest elections” and “federalism”.
In a rejoinder to the Enforcement Directorate‘s (ED) reply affidavit filed on his petition difficult his arrest within the case, Kejriwal stated the mode, method and timing of his arrest simply earlier than the Lok Sabha elections when the Mannequin Code of Conduct had come into play, speaks volumes concerning the “arbitrariness” of the company.
Kejriwal claimed it’s a “classical case” of how the Centre has misused the ED and its extensive powers beneath the Prevention of Cash Laundering Act to “crush” the Aam Aadmi Celebration (AAP) and its leaders.
It claimed that the ED illegally ‘picked up’ a sitting chief minister and the nationwide convenor of one of many nationwide Opposition events, 5 days after the overall elections had been introduced and the Mannequin Code of Conduct got here into drive.
He stated a degree taking part in area, which is a pre-requisite for ‘free and honest elections’, has clearly been compromised together with his unlawful arrest.
It stated your complete foundation of Kejriwal’s arrest rests upon sure statements that are within the nature of “self-incriminating confessions” by alleged accomplices who’ve been given the immunity by the use of pardon and so forth.
“Whether or not such statements might qualify as supplies to achieve the conclusion of guilt as envisaged beneath part 19 PMLA to justify the arrest of a sitting chief minister of NCT of Delhi or a nationwide convenor of a nationwide political occasion in India within the midst of normal elections,” it requested.
Within the rejoinder, Kejriwal alleged the one goal of the ED was to obtain and procure some assertion in opposition to him and as quickly because the assertion was taken, the mission of the probe company was achieved and thereafter, the co-accused had been neither arrested nor any additional statements had been taken.
The AAP chief claimed the malicious intent of the ED in conducting the investigation was obvious from its deliberate concealment of statements made by co-accused people the place both no allegations had been made or allegations had been explicitly denied.
Kejriwal additionally stated there is no such thing as a hyperlink by any means established by the ED to say that an quantity of Rs 45 crore was transferred by the South group as superior kickback which was then utilised by the AAP within the Goa elections.
The chief minister stated the ED, in its reply affidavit filed within the apex courtroom, has stated that one of many causes which necessitated his arrest was that he didn’t stay current earlier than the investigating officer (IO) regardless of being summoned 9 occasions.
In its reply affidavit filed within the apex courtroom earlier this week, the ED has claimed that Kejriwal is the “kingpin and key conspirator” of the excise coverage rip-off and the arrest of an individual for an offence primarily based on materials can by no means violate the “idea of free and honest elections”.
The ED arrested Kejriwal on March 21 after the Delhi Excessive Court docket refused to grant him safety from coercive motion by the federal anti-money laundering company. He’s at the moment lodged in Tihar jail beneath judicial custody.
On April 15, the highest courtroom issued a discover to the ED and sought its response to Kejriwal’s plea.
The excessive courtroom had on April 9 upheld Kejriwal’s arrest within the cash laundering case, saying there was no illegality about it and that the ED was left with “little choice” after he skipped repeated summonses and refused to hitch the investigation.
The matter pertains to alleged corruption and cash laundering within the formulation and execution of the Delhi authorities’s excise coverage for 2021-22 which was later scrapped.
