Excise ‘scam’: Supreme Court to hear Arvind Kejriwal’s petition against his arrest by ED on Monday

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 14

The Supreme Court will on Monday hear Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s petition challenging the Delhi High Court’s verdict upholding his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering case linked to Delhi excise policy scam.

Kejriwal’s petition is listed before a Bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta for hearing on April 15.

A day after the Delhi High Court dismissed his petition against his arrest by the ED, Kejriwal had on April 10 moved the Supreme Court challenging the high court’s verdict.

A Bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud had agreed to consider Kejriwal’s request for urgent hearing of his petition after senior counsel AM Singhvi on April 10 mentioned his petition for immediate listing. Singhvi had said the high court’s order was based on certain material that was suppressed from the petitioner.

Despite the high court’s refusal to quash his arrest and repeated demands by the BJP, Kejriwal has refused to resign as Delhi Chief Minister.

The Delhi High Court has turned down three PILs seeking his removal as the Delhi Chief Minister following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate, saying it was the Lt Governor to take a call on this.

The ED had arrested Kejriwal on March 21 after the Delhi High Court refused to grant him protection from coercive action by the probe agency in the money laundering case.

On April 1, a Delhi Special Court sent Kejriwal to 14-day judicial custody till April 15 on the expiry of his ED custody.

The ED alleged that Kejriwal was the kingpin and the key conspirator of the excise scam and there were reasons to believe on the basis of material in its possession that the AAP leader was guilty of the offence of money laundering.

Spelling further trouble for beleaguered Delhi Chief Minister, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the Delhi High Court had on April 9 dismissed his petition challenging his arrest by the ED, saying there was no violation of law or the Supreme Court’s verdicts.

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