New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal approached the High Court yet again, seeking 'no coercive action' against him following an excise scam case on Thursday. The bench, headed by Justice Suresh Kait, will hear the matter on Thursday. The ED has issued nine summonses to him in the excise case so far.
On March 20, the HC refused to give any relief to the CM on the petition challenging the ED summons. Following this, his lawyer expressed apprehension that the ED might call him for questioning and arrest him.
During the hearing, the bench asked the Kejriwal lawyer, "Why don't you appear before the Enforcement Directorate?" In the reply, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh were also arrested by the agency. We have an apprehension that the ED will arrest him, but he is ready to appear if he is given protection.
Kejriwal, through his plea, has sought the declaration of Section 2(s) of the PMLA to be ultra vires, unconstitutional, and arbitrary in so far as it is construed to include a political party within its ambit and sweep.
Kejriwal plea further stated, "The present petition is being filed in extremely urgent and emergent circumstances where such arbitrary procedure under PMLA is sought to be employed to create a non-level playing field for the impending general elections scheduled to be held on April 19, 2024, and to skew the electoral process in the favor of the ruling party at the Centre that controls the ED through the Ministry of Finance."
On March 16, Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra of Rouse Avenue Court granted bail to Kejriwal in this case. The court had earlier rejected Kejriwal's petition and ordered him to appear in court. After that, Kejriwal appeared in court on March 16.
Earlier, ED had arrested Manish Sisodia from Tihar Jail after interrogation in this case on March 9, 2023. Sisodia was earlier arrested by the CBI on February 26, 2023.
Rouse Avenue Court has rejected the bail plea of Sanjay Singh, after which Singh has filed a bail petition in the Supreme Court. Thereafter, the SC also rejected Manish Sisodia's bail plea.
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