Supreme Court asked 5 Questions to ED: Arvind Kejriwal’s petition against arrest and remand in the Delhi liquor policy case was heard in the Supreme Court on Tuesday. A bench of Justices Sanjeev Khanna and Dipankar Dutta questioned the timing of Kejriwal’s arrest.
The bench asked Enforcement Directorate (ED) counsel ASG SV Raju – Why was the Delhi Chief Minister arrested just before the Lok Sabha elections. Freedom is very important, you cannot deny it. The court fixed the date of hearing on May 3 with the answers to 5 questions.
Table of Contents
Supreme Court asked 5 questions to ED
1. Can criminal proceedings be initiated in respect of what has been said in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary or other cases without any judicial proceedings? (Justice Khanna said that no attachment has been done in Kejriwal’s case so far. If it has been done, then ED will have to explain how it was connected)
2. In the Manish Sisodia case, the judgment has two parts – one, which is in his favour, the other, which is not in his favour. In which part does Kejriwal’s case fall?
3. How to interpret section 19 of PMLA, since Kejriwal is coming against arrest and remand instead of applying for bail. If he takes the latter route, he will have to face higher provisions under section 45 of PMLA?
4. The time between the commencement of proceedings in the case and the filing of the repeated complaint some time later. (In this regard it was pointed out that the gap would have serious consequences. Since Section 8 prescribes a maximum time limit of 365 days for the judicial process)
5. Timing of the arrest. Why was this done before the elections?
What happened in the last two hearings
April 29: Arguments given by Kejriwal
- There are 3 stages. Documents, reason to believe and being accused. Having the power to arrest does not mean that you can arrest. The allegation must be proven, not just suspected. You must have solid or proven evidence. There must be some basis, which we do not know.
- Kejriwal was called by the CBI, he went. He replied to the ED notice in detail. He said that he cannot come. You cannot say today that you did not come, so we arrested you. It is my right not to go.
- If an accused says that he will not give a statement, can you say that the accused is not cooperating, so he is arrested? They arrested Kejriwal. Statements were not taken there under Section 50. The arrest was not made for one and a half years. My bail being denied does not become a basis for coming to my house and arresting me.
The Supreme Court asked- Why did you ignore the notices sent by ED? You came here against the arrest and remand, why did you not go to the trial court for bail. On this, Kejriwal’s lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that the arrest is illegal. ED lawyer SV Raju said that he had not opposed the previous custody as well.
April 15: Supreme Court issues notice to ED and asks for response on arrest
- On April 15, while hearing Arvind’s petition, ED was asked to respond by April 24 in the money laundering case in the liquor scam. In the affidavit, ED said that despite being summoned several times, he did not cooperate with the agency.
- The ED also said that Kejriwal has not been arrested due to any malice or other reasons. Investigation of a crime is an area reserved for the investigating agency. His arrest is also part of the investigation.
ED had told the Supreme Court that the arrest was correct
On April 24, the ED told the Supreme Court that despite receiving summons nine times, Kejriwal was avoiding interrogation. This attitude of his has given the investigating officer a reason to arrest him. Also, the things found with the investigating officer have also helped in proving that he is guilty. Kejriwal was asked for the password of his mobile phone during the search on March 21. The same was asked during ED custody as well. He refused to share it.Â
The High Court had justified the arrest
On April 9, the Delhi High Court had justified Kejriwal’s arrest. It also said that the ED has sufficient evidence for the arrest. After this, Arvind Kejriwal filed a petition in the Supreme Court on April 10 against the High Court’s decision. While hearing the case on April 15, the apex court had given the date of April 29. Yesterday, Singhvi presented arguments for an hour.
Sisodia in jail in the same case, Sanjay Singh on bail
Before Kejriwal, AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh were also arrested in the liquor policy case. Sisodia has been in jail since 26 February 2023. Sanjay Singh was arrested by the ED on 4 October 2023. On 2 April this month, the Supreme Court granted him bail. He came out on 3 April after staying in Tihar for 6 months.
