Claiming innocence in the liquor gate scam case, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that the timing of his arrest sought to ensure the disintegration of his political party.
"This case reeks of timing issues. The timing ensures that I am (Kejriwal) unable to participate in a democratic activity (election processes) and also seeks to disintegrate and demolish my party before the first vote is cast," Abhishek Manu Singhvi, senior lawyer for Kejriwal, told the HC.
The Delhi HC also heard arguments from the ED, after which it reserved its order on Kejriwal's plea against his arrest in the money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy scam.
It is expected that the order would come next week. Kejriwal had moved the Delhi HC challenging his arrest by the ED in the money laundering case related to the alleged liquor policy scam case.
The Delhi CM 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.
