Granting interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal would not amount to grant of privilege or special status to politicians, the Supreme Court on Friday said, while observing that the Aam Aadmi Party leader has no criminal antecedents and is not a threat to the society.
He is a well-regarded person and he has done a lot of developmental work in his state. He will reply to all the actions that have been initiated against him at the appropriate time, the Bihar chief minister said.
In a letter to the investigating agency, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's daughter said she had gone through the contents of the first information report (FIR) copy as well as the complaint available on the website in connection with the case and her name did not figure anywhere in any manner whatsoever.
'The present case is a classic case of how the ruling party led central government has misused the central agency- Enforcement Directorate and its wide powers under PMLA to crush its biggest political opponent -Aam Aadmi Party and its leaders'
Kejriwal said that it has been alleged that a bribe of Rs 100 crore was taken, but he asked where was the money.
The Delhi high court on Friday sought the Enforcement Directorate's stand on a plea by Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh against his arrest in a money laundering case related to alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.
The judge noted that following an earlier court order, the official concerned of Rouse Avenue District Courts premises had brought the CCTV footage of May 23 pertaining to production of Sisodia before the court in the case.
The ED opposed Kejriwal's prayer for five meetings with his lawyer every week, saying it was against the jail manual.
Bharat Rashtra Samiti leader K Kavitha is expected to be produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court by the Enforcement Directorate in New Delhi on Saturday for obtaining her remand for custodial interrogation in the money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22, officials said.
Sisodia said nothing was found against him during searches, and he would continue cooperating in the investigation.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal 'directly used' part of the alleged Rs 100 crore generated from the 'kickbacks' of the Delhi excise policy 'scam' by staying in a luxury hotel in Goa, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has claimed in its charge sheet filed against the Aam Aadmi Party supremo.
The BJP welcomed the CBI move, claiming that it had been saying all along that Kejriwal was the 'mastermind of the liquor scam'.
Failing to get any reprieve from the Delhi high court, the Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will move the Supreme Court soon against his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate and maintained the excise policy case was the 'biggest political conspiracy of the country' to finish the party.
The apex court registry refused to accept the application, saying since Kejriwal was given liberty to move the trial court for regular bail, the plea is not maintainable.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's husband Robert Vadra on Tuesday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party was behind Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal being out of jail to campaign in the Haryana polls with an aim of denting the Congress' chances.
In a digital briefing, she said that Kejriwal, in his message, said even though he is in jail, the two crore people of Delhi, who are his family, should not face any problems.
State governments have requested the Centre for export incentives, lifting of import duty in the case of cotton for the textile sector and GST exemptions.
On Monday, Sisodia met AAP leaders to prepare for next February's Delhi assembly elections.
The ED on Wednesday had issued a fresh and the fifth summons to Kejriwal after he skipped four earlier summonses over the last four months.
Names of Rajya Sabha MPs Harbhajan Singh and Swati Maliwal are missing from the list.
The Enforcement Directorate has taken cognisance of Delhi minister Atishi's statement that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sent her directions from the agency's custody to initiate public welfare works related to water and sewerage, official sources said on Sunday.
Kejriwal, who was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the same case and later by the CBI which was probing corruption charges, stepped out after spending 155 days in Tihar jail. The AAP supremo, who was earlier granted three-week interim bail in the ED case, was given a resounding welcome by his party leaders and supporters who were drenched in heavy rain. Addressing party workers from the top of an SUV, Kejriwal, sporting a half-sleeve blue shirt, raised 'Inquilab Zindabad' and 'Vande Mataram' slogans.
Responding to Arvind Kejriwal's recent announcement of ten guarantees to the people, Amit Shah said the AAP leader's comments need not be taken seriously as the party is contesting only 22 Lok Sabha seats.
The agency will question Sisodia on various aspects of the excise policy, his alleged links with liquor traders, and politicians and claims made by witnesses in their statements.
After he failed to appear before the Enforcement Directorate, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been summoned for the fourth time in less than three months by the agency for questioning on January 18 in the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case, official sources said on Saturday.
Atishi along with Saurabh Bharadwaj was inducted into the cabinet following the resignation of Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain after their arrest.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma allowed Sisodia to withdraw the interim bail applications.
The Delhi high court on Friday refused to interfere with the 'malicious' arrest of Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case related to the now-scrapped excise policy of the Delhi government, saying it cannot impute political motive to a 'premier' investigating agency in the absence of material on record. It also said Singh's was not a 'prima facie case of no evidence at all'.
Other posters, which came up on public walls at different places in the city featured leaders who joined BJP from others parties and BRS MLC K Kavitha on the other hand.
The latest complaint pertains to the Aam Aadmi Party national convenor not honouring summonses number 4 to 8 sent by the federal probe agency under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the ED said.
Of the AAP's 62 MLAs in Delhi, 55 including all the ministers were present during the meeting.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was brought to Tihar Jail in New Delhi on Monday after a city court sent him to judicial custody till April 15, officials said.
A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta referred to a larger bench, preferably of five judges, for in-depth consideration of three questions on the aspect of "need and necessity of arrest" under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The counsel said the investigation agency had moved an application before Special Judge M K Nagpal last Friday in this regard, and the same was allowed.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's unexpected announcement on Sunday that he will resign after two days drew mixed reactions from parties, with some saying it was a compulsion due to bail restrictions on his functioning and others hailing it as a right call to go back to the people.
The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday said it will hold a "referendum" in Delhi and other parts of the country on whether Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should resign if he is arrested by the Enforcement Directorate or continue to run the government from jail.
Allegations of corruption against its leaders, constant bickering with the lieutenant governor over governance issues and a spirited campaign conducted by the Bharatiya Janata Party were enough to ensure a rout of the Aam Aadmi Party in the Delhi assembly polls, the results of which were declared on Saturday.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Saurabh Bharadwaj has said that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita is the best person to keep the party together in the prevailing circumstances and asserted that her presence has had a 'positive effect' on the cadre.
In a fresh affidavit filed in the top court, the ED said no political leader has ever been granted interim bail for campaigning even if he is not contesting polls.
As the election nears, political positions on prohibition are shifting.
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