Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will approach the Supreme Court on Wednesday challenging this arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Delhi Liquor Policy case after the setback from the Delhi High Court on Tuesday.
His petition is likely to be mentioned before the Chief Justice of India at 10.30 am for an urgent hearing. Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 and is currently lodged in Tihar Jail.
The Delhi High Court had upheld his arrest in a money laundering case stemming from the Delhi Excise Policy case, saying the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was left with "little option" after he skipped repeated summonses and refused to join the investigation.
Though Kejriwal had moved the Supreme Court on the night of his arrest itself, the Chief Minister withdrew the petition the next day as it was clashing with the ED application for remand before the trial court. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, on behalf of Kejriwal, had mentioned to Justice Sanjiv Khanna-led Bench at the time that Kejriwal would fight the remand and come back.
Meanwhile, the chief minister's wife Sunita and personal secretary Bibhav Kumar him inside Tihar Jail on Tuesday. This, according to AAP sources, was Kejriwal's first in-person meeting with them since he was sent to judicial custody on April 1. Currently, he is in jail number two of Tihar.
"His wife Sunita Kejriwal and his personal secretary Bibhav Kumar met him at 'mulakat jangla' of Tihar jail on Tuesday at 3 pm. The jail administration allowed them to meet for half an hour," a source told PTI. So far, Sunita Kejriwal and other family members have been talking to the Delhi chief minister via video call or over the phone.
The AAP sources said Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann are likely to meet Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday. Mann's office has sought time to meet Kejriwal in jail.
Kejriwal has given the names of six people, including Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, whom he wants to talk to or meet in the jail.
However, the Tihar administration said that the date and time are yet to be decided.
