The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed the petition filed by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, challenging his arrest and remand by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Delhi Liquor Policy scam case.
The order was passed by the single-judge Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.
The High Court also upheld the subsequent remand orders, including the one remanding Kejriwal to judicial custody.
It said the material collected by ED revealed that Kejriwal conspired and was involved in the formulation of the Excise Policy, both in his personal capacity, and as the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Kejriwal also used the proceeds of crime, it added.
The High Court said it would not lay down different categories of laws, one for the common citizens and other for granting special privileges for a Chief Minister.
The single-judge Bench had earlier reserved the verdict after hearing arguments at length on April 3.
The plea by AAP leader stated that the Central government was misusing the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
In the course of hearing, the Enforcement Directorate, which was represented by ASG SV Raju, argued that this cannot be accepted that people were being treated differently. He said the AAP leader has committed a crime, but just because he was a Chief Minister, did it mean that he couldn’t be arrested?
The Counsel said that one cannot loot the country just because he was holding an important position and cannot be excused just because elections were coming.
The AAP leader was represented by Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who stated that the case exhibited timing issues, preventing the petitioner from participating in the democratic process.
The Senior Counsel further submitted that the arrest was done to harm the prospects of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, scheduled to be held between April 19 and June 1.
The ED countered the plea, stating that Kejriwal cannot claim “immunity” from arrest based on upcoming elections as the law applied equally to him and an “aam aadmi”.
The law enforcement agency stated that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been the recipient of funds from illegal activities in the Delhi liquor scam.
On March 21, the Enforcement Directorate arrested Kejriwal after the Delhi High Court denied him protection from coercive action by the federal anti-money laundering agency.
The Delhi CM was placed in judicial custody on April 1 after appearing in the trial court following the expiration of his ED custody.
The issue revolves around alleged corruption and money laundering in developing and implementing the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22, which was subsequently scrapped.