New Delhi: The Delhi high court denied interim relief to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) financial crimes agency last week in the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam case.
The high court gave the ED time till April 2 to file its response to Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest as well as his application seeking interim relief.
“This court is of the opinion that that the respondent has to be granted an opportunity to file a reply, as an opportunity for effective representation, and declining this opportunity would amount to denial of fair hearing as well as violation of one of the principles of natural justice … which is applicable to both the parties and not one,” Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma’s order read.
Justice Sharma also said that both Kejriwal’s petition challenging his arrest and his interim relief application will be decided on April 3 and that no adjournment would be granted on that date.
Kejriwal, who is also head of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was arrested by the ED on March 21 and is accused of being the “kingpin” in the liquor policy case.
His AAP government in Delhi is accused of granting liquor licenses to certain traders in exchange for bribes under a now-scrapped liquor policy first implemented in 2021.
Party leader and Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia has been jailed in the case since February last year.
The AAP has denied the charges as being politically motivated, while the BJP-led Union government says the law is just taking its course.
Kejriwal’s lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi said in the court that his arrest just before general elections violated the basic structure of the constitution, which provides for free and fair elections, the LiveLaw legal news site reported.
Appearing for the ED, additional solicitor general S.V. Raju said Kejriwal’s legal team intentionally tried to stall the matter and provided the government with his 400-page petition just yesterday.
Singhvi said the court’s registry was closed for Holi.
The ED was given custody of Kejriwal until tomorrow (Thursday, March 28).
He is likely to be produced before a Delhi court tomorrow, and the ED can either seek extension of his custody or directions for sending him to judicial custody, the Press Trust of India reported.
