NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday opposed in the Supreme Court the grant of interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a money-laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam, saying the right to campaign in elections is neither fundamental nor constitutional.
Opposing the court's suggestion to grant Kejriwal interim bail in view of the Lok Sabha elections, "The right to campaign for an election is neither a fundamental right nor a constitutional right and not even a legal right. The agency also submitted that a politician cannot claim a higher status than an ordinary citizen and was not entitled to differential treatment," the ED inbits affidavit told the apex court on Thursday.
The ED further said that no political leader has been granted interim bail for campaigning and he is not even a contesting candidate.
"Even a contesting candidate cannot be granted interim bail for his own campaigning," the ED said, ahead of the crucial hearing in the apex court.
The ED said that if the top court granted interim bail to Kejriwal on the grounds of elections, then this "will create a precedent which would permit all unscrupulous politicians to commit crimes, avoid investigation under the garb of election."
The apex court's two-judge bench, led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna and also comprising Justice Dipankar Datta is scheduled to hear the case tomorrow. It had on Wednesday said that it might pass an order on May 10, Friday on the interim bail application of jailed Delhi CM, Kejriwal in the Delhi liquor case.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor, had moved the apex court challenging the Delhi HC's rejection of his plea challenging his arrest and remand by the ED.
After the ED filed the affidavit, the legal team of Delhi CM has raised strong objection to it. It said that a formal complaint has been lodged with the Supreme Court's registry denouncing the ED's affidavit as a blatant disregard of legal procedures, especially considering that the matter is already slated for a final decision in SC tomorrow and the affidavit was submitted without taking the SC's approval.
Justifying Kejriwal's arrest in the case, the ED had told the Supreme Court that he was the mastermind and main conspirator in the case. We have all the evidence against him," Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S V Raju, senior law officer for the ED, said.
He said that when the investigation began it was not focussed towards kejriwal, but when it progressed, he was named and his role became clearer.
Hinting to grant Kejriwal the bail, the apex court observed that "he is an elected CM of Delhi. There are elections. These are extraordinary circumstances. He's not a habitual offender. These factors may be considered gor granting some kind of interim bail."
The top court also had observed that the national elections are held once in 5 years, although it opined that politicians should not be treated separately. "Elections are around the corner and we are thinking on that perspective," Justice Khanna had said.
A day after his plea was rejected by the Delhi High Court on April 9, Kejriwal had on April 10 moved the Supreme Court against the dismissal of plea of his arrest and remand in Delhi liquor scam.
On March 22, a trial court remanded him to six days of ED custody, initially.
The accused, Kejriwal claimed innocence in the liquor gate scam case and had told the Court, during the hearing that the timing of his arrest right after the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is to humiliate, insult, and disable him and his political party.
The ASG Raju said that there are sufficient evidences against him and he is the main criminal conspirator in the Delhi liquor scam.
The Delhi HC, in its order had said, "The arrest of Arvind Kejriwal is not in contravention of the legal provisions. The remand can't be held to be illegal."
