• Source:PTI
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The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear today a plea filed by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal challenging his arrest in a money laundering case stemming from the alleged excise policy scam. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta is likely to hear the matter. The Delhi CM has earlier told the apex court that his ‘illegal arrest’ in the case marks an unprecedented assault on the fundamentals of democracy based on ‘free and fair elections’ and ‘federalism’. This is the first time in independent India that a sitting chief minister has been arrested.

In a rejoinder to the Enforcement Directorate's reply affidavit regarding his petition challenging his arrest, Kejriwal said that the timing, method, and context of his arrest, particularly just before the Lok Sabha elections and amid the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, underscore the agency's arbitrary actions.

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Earlier, Kejriwal also claimed that the ED illegally 'picked up' a sitting chief minister and the national convenor of one of the national opposition parties, five days after the general elections were announced and the Model Code of Conduct came into force. The central probe agency also said in its reply document submitted before the Supreme Court that one of the reasons for his arrest was that he failed to appear before the investigating officer (IO) despite being summoned nine times.

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21. (ANI Image)

The ED in its remand application, filed in the Supreme Court, termed Kejriwal a ‘kingpin’ and ‘key conspirator’ and claimed that he was directly involved in the conspiracy of formulating the 2021-22 excise policy to favour certain individuals and requesting payments from liquor companies in exchange for granting favours under the policy.

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The top court issued a notice to the ED and sought its response to Kejriwal's plea on April 15. The high court on April 9 upheld Kejriwal's arrest in the money laundering case, saying there was no illegality about it and that the ED was left with "little option" after he skipped repeated summonses and refused to join the investigation.

The matter pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 which was later scrapped.