In a dramatic turn of events, the Supreme Court is set to hear a petition today challenging the alleged money laundering case linked to the infamous liquor scam in Delhi, which has raised questions about the arrest of Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Amidst this legal battle, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is optimistic about receiving good news from the Supreme Court today.
In a significant development related to the alleged liquor scam and money laundering case in Delhi, the Supreme Court is set to hear a petition challenging the arrest of Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is hopeful of receiving good news from the Supreme Court today. Delhi’s Cabinet Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj expressed confidence that the Supreme Court will grant permission to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to campaign in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
In the Supreme Court, a bench comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Deepak Gupta may hear CM Kejriwal’s petition. Commenting on this, Saurabh Bhardwaj said, “We are confident that the Supreme Court will definitely allow Arvind Kejriwal to campaign to save democracy and protect the electoral system in this country.
“It is worth noting that Arvind Kejriwal had previously stated in the apex court that his “illegal arrest” is an unprecedented attack on the principles of democracy based on free and fair elections and nationalism. CM Kejriwal mentioned that the manner and timing of his arrest in this case and the agency’s ‘arbitrariness’ say a lot about electoral integrity. He said that his arrest occurred at a time when the Model Code of Conduct related to the Lok Sabha elections was in effect.
Arvind Kejriwal claimed that it is a major issue how the central government misused the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and its extensive powers to ‘crush’ the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its leaders. It is alleged that just five days after the announcement of upcoming elections and the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) unlawfully ‘caught’ a current Chief Minister and the National Convenor of one of the national opposition parties. Kejriwal said that equal opportunity for ‘free and fair elections’ is a prerequisite, but his unlawful arrest clearly violates this.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Arvind Kejriwal on 21st March because the Delhi High Court denied him protection from coercive action in this case. He is currently in judicial custody at Tihar jail.
On April 9th, the High Court had allowed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to remain free in a money laundering case and stated that there was nothing unlawful about it. The High Court mentioned that after repeatedly issuing summons and refusing to participate in the investigation, the Enforcement Directorate had very few options left. This case is related to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and implementation of Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22, which was later canceled.