The Delhi High Court is scheduled to pronounce on Tuesday the verdict on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest by the ED in the liquor policy scam case.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the Delhi HC, which had reserved its order on April 3, will pronounce the judgment at 2:30 PM. He had heard detailed arguments and submissions from Kejriwal and the ED.
Kejriwal claimed innocence in the liquor gate scam case and had told the HC on Wednesday during the hearing that the timing of his arrest seeks to 'demolish' his party ahead of the elections.
"This case reeks of timing issues. The timing ensures that I (Kejriwal) am unable to participate in a democratic activity (election process) and also to disintegrate and demolish my party before the first vote is cast," Abhishek Singhvi, senior lawyer for Kejriwal, had told the HC.
Kejriwal is currently in judicial custody. He was arrested on the night of March 21. On March 22, a trial court remanded him to six days of ED custody, which was extended by further four days. On April 1, he was remanded to judicial custody till April 15.
During the course of the hearing on Wednesday, Singhvi said that the unique feature of this case was that there was no material of any kind of evdence in any manner against Kejriwal with respect to Section 50 of the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act)
"The arrest is done without any inquiry. There is no material to show proceeds of crime by me," Kejriwal argued through his lawyer.
"Some of the accused were arrested. First time they gave statement against me. They were given bail without any objection. Then they get pardon and approvership. The unique thing was that one of them is a candidate from the ruling party in the current elections. There is clear vicarious liability. Please don't allow it to happen," Singhvi pleaded to the HC.
Dismissing the argument of Singhvi that Kejriwal should not be arrested before the polls, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S V Raju, appearing for the ED, said that suppose a political person commits a murder two days before the elections, does it mean he could not be arrested? "This is a bogus argument. It has to be rejected," he said, adding that criminals are meant to be arrested and put in jail.
"Whether a statement is to be believed or not is a matter for the trial. Prima facie, there is enough to show his involvement in the case," Raju argued.