New Delhi: The Delhi High Court dismissed Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s plea against his arrest in the excise policy case on Tuesday. The court mentioned that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had enough material which led to his arrest in money laundering case.
Rejecting Kejriwal’s protest using approver’s statement against him, the court said, “granting pardon to approver is not under ED’s domain as it is a judicial process. If you cast aspersions on the process of pardon, you’re casting aspersions on the judge.” “Statements of approvers will be judged during trial, Arvind Kejriwal will be free to cross-examine them at that stage, the court said.
Kejriwal’s plea to get questioned through video conferencing was also rejected by the court. “It is not for the accused to decide how the investigation is to be done. It cannot be as per the convenience of the accused. This court won’t set two sets of laws – One for the commons and the other for the public servants,” Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma said.
Refusing Kejriwal’s argument against the timing of his arrest the court said it was Mr Kejriwal, who avoided multiple summons since October. He should have participated in the investigation knowing the timeframe of the election.
Kejriwal arrested on March 21, is in judicial custody until April 15. The ED, investigating an excise scam, alleges Kejriwal as the key conspirator and the Aam Aadmi Party as the primary beneficiary. Kejriwal, a founding member of AAP, is accused of controlling its major activities and being involved in policy decision-making.
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