• Source:JND
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Arvind Kejriwal News: The Supreme Court on Monday heard Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's petition challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) concerning a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy. A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta heard the matter and questioned the non-appearance of the AAP supremo before the ED despite repeated summonses for a recording of statements.

Kejriwal, currently in judicial custody since March 21, faced questions regarding his ability to challenge the arrest on the grounds of non-recording of his version. The bench posed several queries to senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, questioning why the AAP leader did not file a bail application before the trial court and emphasising the contradiction in his argument regarding the non-recording of section 50 statements under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

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"Are you not contradicting yourself by saying that his statements under section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) were not recorded? You don't appear on summons for recording of statements under section 50 and then you say it was not recorded," the bench said. What is the investigating officer supposed to do if Kejriwal does not appear on summons, the bench added. "If you don't go for recording of section 50 statements, then you can't take the defence that his statement was not recorded," Justice Khanna said.

Advocate Singhvi contented that non-recording of section 50 statements cannot serve as a defense for arrest, arguing that other evidence also fails to establish Kejriwal's guilt. Section 50 of the PMLA deals with the power of ED authorities to issue summons and production of documents, evidence and other materials. Meanwhile, he also pointed out that on April 16, 2023, Kejriwal appeared before the CBI in connection with the case and answered all the queries.

"Today, you cannot say that we will arrest you because you did not appear on the summons. Can you say that since you did not cooperate, you will be arrested? Non-cooperation cannot be a ground for criminality or grounds for arrest. This court has last year held that non-cooperation cannot be a ground for arrest under the PMLA," Singhvi said. The hearing remained inconclusive and will continue on Tuesday.

(With Agencies Inputs)