'Kejriwal's arrest impinges on basic structure of Constitution': Counsel Singhvi to Delhi HC
The Delhi High Court is today hearing Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's plea against his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Kejriwal filed a plea before the court, saying that the ED has violated his fundamental and human rights.
Senior advocate AM Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal in the Delhi High Court, said today, “A sitting CM was arrested on the cusp of elections when the Model Code of Conduct is in place. If you do anything to make a level playing field uneven you are impinging on the basic structure of the Constitution. The heart of democracy is level playing field. It means free and fair elections. This arrest is impinging on the level playing field."
While urging the Delhi High Court to order the immediate release of the Chief Minister, Singhvi said, "There was no necessity to arrest Kejriwal. His arrest by the ED aimed at politically disabling him and the AAP." He also said that there were 'glaring issues' in Kejriwal's arrest and that they required an immediate decision.
Singhvi added that 'non-cooperation' was the most-abused phrase by the ED.
The counsel also said that the ED's request for time to file a reply to Kejriwal's challenge on his arrest was a delay tactic.
The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday had urged the Delhi High Court to grant it time to file reply to Kejriwal's plea challenging his arrest.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener, who has sought his immediate release on account of the arrest and the subsequent remand to ED, was arrested on March 21 and subsequently remanded to the ED's custody till March 28 by a Delhi court.
On Friday, the trial court had remanded Kejriwal in the ED's custody till March 28 "for his detailed and sustained interrogation".
The ED arrested Kejriwal hours after the high court refused to grant him protection from coercive action by the federal anti-money laundering agency.
The case pertains to the alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 that was later scrapped.
(With PTI inputs)