No immediate relief to Arvind Kejriwal from the Supreme Court too

The Supreme Court on Monday morning denied Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal immediate relief over a plea challenging his arrest last month on money laundering charges linked to the alleged liquor policy scam.

The Supreme Court said it will hear Arvind Kejriwal's plea challenging his March 21 arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), two weeks later after April 29. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo's plea was dismissed by the Delhi High Court on April 9.

Meanwhile, Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court has extended the judicial custody of the Chief Minister, who is currently lodged at the Tihar Jail, till April 23.

The two-judge Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta heard Kejriwal's plea today against his arrest by the ED. The court issued a notice to the ED and sought a response from the investigating agency by April 24. "Issue notice, returnable on the week commencing 29th April 2024," the two-judge bench added.

Appearing on behalf of Kejriwal, senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi told the court, "I am seeking a short date in this case, this Friday. There are selective leaks in the case." To this, Justice Khanna replied, "Will give you a short date, but the date suggested by you is not possible."

Singhvi also said that "the petitioner (Kejriwal) was not named in the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) or chargesheet. There are 15 statements".

"The arrest was to disable me from campaigning," he said, citing Kejriwal as saying.

Kejriwal moved the Supreme Court on April 10, a day after the Delhi High Court had dismissed his petition, saying that he had "conspired with others" in the case. The AAP national convenor's petition also states that his arrest was made "in a motivated manner" and was solely based on subsequent, contradictory and "highly belated statements of co-accused" who have now turned approvers. It has sought his release and declared the arrest "illegal".