Kejriwal’s ED Custody Extended till April 1, Delhi High Court Rejects Plea for his Sacking

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Mar 28: Even as a special court on Thursday further extended by four days the custody of the Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to the Enforcement Directorate, the Delhi High Court rejected a Public Interest Litigation seeking his removal as the chief minister following his arrest in connection with the alleged Delhi liquor scam.

Mr Kejriwal was produced before the special judge Kaveri Baweja in the Rouse Avenue Court on Thursday at the expiry of his seven days custody. The ED demanded a further seven days custody but the court granted it custody till April 1.

Mr Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 in the money laundering case filed in connection with the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy-2021-22 after the Delhi High Court refused to intervene. Hours later ED officials raided the Aam Aadmi Party leader’s residence and took him into custody and was remanded to its custody for a week which expired Thursday. Soon after his arrest he had moved the Supreme Court for immediate release but quickly withdrew it.

He later moved the Delhi High Court against his arrest, arguing that the manner in which the probe agency acted violated his fundamental rights. But the High Court refused an interim relief and fixed the next hearing on April 3 after giving time to the ED till April 2 to reply to his petition seeking immediate release and declaring his arrest unlawful.

Earlier in the day, the Delhi High Court rejected a PIL demanding that Mr Kejriwal be removed as the chief minister following his arrest and his Aam Aadmi Party’s decision that he would run the government even from jail. The PIL was filed after the Delhi BJP demanded his resignation and the Centre-appointed Delhi Lieutenant Governor Saxena asserting that he would not allow Mr Kejriwal to continue to function as the CM from jail.

A Bench of headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet P. S. Arora refused to comment on the merits of the issue, saying the same fell outside the scope of judicial interference. “This court is of the view that there is no scope for judicial interference. It is for the other wing of the government to examine the issue in accordance with the law.”

During the hearing, the court asked petitioner Surjit Singh Yadav’s counsel to show the legal bar on the continuation of Kejriwal as the chief minister. “There may be practical difficulties but that is something else. Where is the legal bar?” the court asked.

The Delhi BJP had earlier demanded his resignation claiming that the capital city was facing a constitutional crisis. Addressing a press conference, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva and party MP Manoj Tiwari said the AAP could have made anyone from the party Chief Minister after Mr Kejriwal was taken into custody. “Delhi is under a huge constitutional crisis. If you have even scant regard for the people of Delhi who elected you, you could have made anyone (from AAP) Chief Minister,” Mr Tiwari said.

Taking a dig at the Kejriwal-led AAP, Mr Sachdeva said there was an internal tussle going on in the AAP for the Chief Minister’s chair. He questioned the constitutional validity of running a government from the custody of a probe agency. “Show us one example in the entire world of somebody running the government from jail. If you have any ethics left in you, resign,” Mr Sachdeva said, asking why did the party get Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain to resign if functioning from jail was legal.

The BJP’s demand came a day after Delhi Lt. Governor Saxena said the city government would not be run from jail. “I can assure the people of Delhi that the government will not be run from jail.” LG Saxena had said on Wednesday. Minutes before being produced in a city court, Mr Kejriwal was asked about Mr Saxena’s statement to which he said it was a “political conspiracy” and that the d “people will give a reply.”

In the Rouse Avenue Court, Mr Kejriwal himself made submissions during the hearing in the excise policy case and made a brief but impassioned speech in which he accused the probe agency of trying “to crush” his party. “A smokescreen of the AAP being corrupt has been created before the nation,” he said. The ED told the court that Mr Kejriwal was giving evasive replies and not disclosing passwords of his digital devices. Mr Kejriwal said in court, “I am named by four witnesses in excise policy case, are four statements enough to arrest a sitting CM. Smokescreen of the AAP being corrupt created in front of nation and I am ready to face ED probe.”

He pointed out – as the AAP has since his arrest – that no part of the alleged ₹ 100 crore in bribes had been recovered. He also said no court had found him guilty. “I was arrested… but no court has proved me guilty. The CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) has filed 31,000 pages (of chargesheets) and ED filed 25,000 pages. Even if you read them together… the question remains… why have I been arrested?” Mr Kejriwal asked the court.

The ED believes the now-scrapped liquor policy provided an impossibly high profit margin of 185 per cent for retailers and 12 per cent for wholesalers. Of the latter, six per cent – over ₹ 600 crore – were bribes and the money was allegedly used to fund the AAP’s poll campaigns. The ED has labelled the Chief Minister as a key conspirator in this case, but Mr Kejriwal and party colleagues arrested in this matter – ex-Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, and former Health Minister Satyendar Jain – have all denied the charges.

The AAP and the opposition have hit out at the BJP-led central government for using central agencies, like the ED, to target rivals and critics before the general election. The AAP has criticised Mr Kejriwal’s arrest on grounds it was timed to interfere with his plans to campaign for the party. The BJP has dismissed claims it uses central agencies as described by the opposition.

The AAP observed a fast in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar on Thursday in protest against Mr Kejriwal’s arrest. During the protest, the AAP leaders chanted slogans like “Arvind Kejriwal, aage bado, hum tumhare saath hain” (Arvind Kejriwal, move forward; we are with you) and “Jail ka tala tootega, Arvind Kejriwal chhootega” (The lock of the jail will break, and Arvind Kejriwal will be released).

In Delhi, Mr Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal on Thursday claimed he was not keeping well and was being “harassed a lot.” Mrs Kejriwal, who had come for her husband’s court hearing, told reporters, “He has not been keeping well. His sugar levels are fluctuating. He is being harassed a lot. This tyranny won’t last and people will give a reply.”

The ED also questioned the AAP’s Goa unit president Amit Palekar and three others in connection with a money-laundering case. After coming out of the office, Mr Palekar said, “I cannot reveal what the investigation is about. I have joined the probe. Whatever questions they are asking me, I am answering.” He said he has been asked to bring the data related to the case. “Whatever data the ED has asked me to bring, I will bring…They are doing their job, I will do mine as a citizen,” he said.