A day after the Delhi High Court dismissed his petition against his arrest in the liquor policy case, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today approached the Supreme Court. The counsel for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader will take the matter before the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud around 10:30 am and request an urgent hearing.
The Supreme Court yesterday dismissed Mr Kejriwal's challenge against his March 21 arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The court ruled that the central agency was left with “little” after the AAP leader skipped several summons in the money laundering case. It also pointed out the ED's allegation that Mr Kejriwal was actively involved in utilizing and concealing alleged proceeds of crime.
The court emphasized that there is no separate protocol that an investigating agency must follow for questioning a common man and a chief minister.
“Further, this Court is of the opinion that this Court would not enact two different categories of laws, one for ordinary citizens, and the other granting special privileges which may be conferred by an investigating agency on a Chief Minister or any other person in power , solely on the basis of holding that public office, as that public office is held by that public figure by virtue of the mandate of the public,” Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said in her statement.
Reacting to the Supreme Court verdict, AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Saurabh Bharadhwat said the ED and CBI had not recovered even a rupee during their searches in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case. “They are talking about crores. But ED and CBI have not found even a rupee of illegal money. Witnesses have been pressured to change their statements and say what ED wants them to do,” he said. “This issue is not about money laundering. This is the biggest political conspiracy in the history of India,” he said.
Mr Bharadwaj also said that the Supreme Court had denied relief to AAP MP Sanjay Singh on the same grounds, but the Supreme Court had granted him bail. “We hope that Arvind Kejriwal also gets justice from the Supreme Court,” he said.