High Court to hear Arvind Kejriwal's plea
The Delhi High Court is scheduled to hear Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea on Wednesday, March 27, challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money-laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam. Kejriwal’s petition, seeking his immediate release on grounds of the arrest and subsequent remand being deemed “illegal,” is set for a hearing before Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma at 10:30 a.m.
The ED detained Kejriwal after the high court declined to grant him protection from coercive action by the agency. A trial court had previously remanded Kejriwal in ED custody until March 28. Kejriwal had earlier approached the high court to quash all proceedings, including summonses, against him. The arrest is linked to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and implementation of the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22, which was later annulled.
Other senior Aam Aadmi Party leaders, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, are also in judicial custody in connection with the same case. The ED has claimed that the accused collaborated with Kejriwal in formulating the excise policy, resulting in undue benefits for them, and paid kickbacks to the AAP in return.
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Protest Vs Protest in Delhi
The AAP staged protests in Delhi following Kejriwal’s arrest, with party leaders and supporters attempting to march towards the Prime Minister’s residence, but were stopped.
Meanwhile, the BJP organized counter protests, demanding Kejriwal’s resignation. Kejriwal issued directives from ED custody to Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj to address medication and diagnostic test shortages in mohalla clinics and hospitals in the city. This marks the second directive issued by Kejriwal while in ED custody. Gopal Rai criticized the imposition of restrictions under section 144, stating that Delhi seems to have turned into “police state” due to the Centre’s actions.
