The Supreme Court, hearing Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest in a money laundering case, asked why he did not approach trial court for bail. The apex court will continue hearing his plea on Tuesday.
Hearing the case, a bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta asked why didn’t the Delhi chief minister approach the trial court for bail. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi appearing for Kejriwal said there were several reasons including the arrest was illegal.
The Enforcement Directorate arrested Kejriwal on March 21, after the Delhi High Court refused to grant him protection from coercive action by the federal anti-money laundering agency. The chief minister is currently lodged in the Tihar jail here under judicial custody.
The high court had, 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.
Singhvi argued that denial of interim bail or not giving a statement can not be grounds for arrest. “I went when CBI called. I replied to ED notices in detail. I said I was not going to come. But today, you can't arrest by saying you didn't come so we arrested,” LiveLaw reported.
-with PTI inputs.
