The appeal is made against a ruling made by Delhi High Court Judge Swarana Kanta Sharma yesterday.......
Digital desk: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has approached the Supreme Court to dismiss his detention by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Delhi Liquor Policy case, following the Delhi High Court's rejection of his plea yesterday.
Today at 10.30 AM, the Chief Justice of India is expected to mention the appeal for an urgent hearing. After being detained on March 21, Kejriwal is currently in judicial detention.
The appeal is made against a ruling made by Delhi High Court Judge Swarana Kanta Sharma yesterday, which upheld Kejriwal's detention and ensuing remand.
While pronouncing the verdict, Justice Sharma read the following excerpt in open court: "Material collected by ED reveals that Kejriwal conspired and was involved in the formulation of excise policy and used proceeds of crime. He is also allegedly involved in a personal capacity in formulation of policy and demanding kickbacks and secondly in the capacity of national convenor of AAP."
The High Court judge concluded, after hearing from the parties and reviewing the record, that ED had managed to have enough evidence on record—including quotes from AAP's candidate and approvers—to show that Kejriwal accepted money for the Goa elections.
It further found that the case qualified for the application of Section 70 PMLA, which penalizes offenses by companies. According to this section, if a firm violates the PMLA, anyone who was in charge of the company's business actions at the time of the violation will be held guilty.
Judge Sharma dismissed claims of leveraging in Kejriwal's challenge of the approvers' remarks, pointing out that the statements were recorded by courts, not the investigation agency.
In brief, the Delhi High Court denied the Delhi CM interim protection, which led to his arrest on March 21. On the evening of his arrest, he filed a petition with the Supreme Court; however, it was withdrawn the following day because it conflicted with the ED's petition for remand in the Trial Court. Kejriwal's lawyer, Senior Adv Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, had already informed a bench chaired by Justice Sanjiv Khanna that Kejriwal would challenge the remand and return.
The AAP chief was detained after the arrest even though the remand was opposed. The Trial Court first remanded him to six days of ED custody on March 22. The same was then extended by four days. He was placed in judicial detention on April 1 and kept there until April 15.
According to the ED, Kejriwal was the mastermind and main conspirator of the alleged Delhi Liquor Policy scam, and there were grounds to suspect that he had committed money laundering based on material that was in its possession.
Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, two senior AAP leaders, are also charged in this case. Sisodia is still behind bars, but Singh was recently granted bail by the Supreme Court as a result of an ED concession.
In related news, Kejriwal's removal from his position as Delhi Chief Minister is the subject of three public interest litigation that were submitted to the Delhi High Court. The High Court has dismissed the first two (see here and here), but the third is scheduled for April 10.
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