The Supreme Court Monday sought the Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s response in a plea filed by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal against his arrest in the excise policy case.
The court has asked for the response to be filed on or before April 24, and a rejoinder by April 27. The court will hear the matter on April 29 again.
On April 15, the Delhi High Court dismissed Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest, saying the ED was in “possession of enough material” to arrest him.
Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 and is currently lodged in Tihar jail, under judicial custody.
The Delhi Chief Minister, in his plea, has questioned the timing of his “illegal” arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), saying it was “in the middle of the election cycle and especially after the declaration of the schedule of General Elections 2024.”
The ED, on its part, has called Kejriwal the “kingpin and key conspirator of the Delhi excise scam”. The agency has alleged that kickbacks received after changes in the excise policy were used to fund AAP’s Assembly poll campaign in Goa.
Earlier in the day, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann met Kejriwal in Tihar jail. “He is kept in jail like a criminal. Even criminals get more facilities… what did he do wrong? You are treating him like you have caught some big terrorist,” he said after the meeting.