The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday told the Delhi high court that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, arrested in a money laundering case linked with the alleged excise scam, cannot claim "immunity" from arrest on the ground of upcoming elections as law is applied equally to him and an aam aadmi.
The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday arrested Aam Aadmi Party leader and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on money laundering charges in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy, official sources said.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday did not appear before the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in a case linked to the now scrapped Delhi excise policy and wrote to the central agency demanding the "recall" of its summons to him, calling it "vague, motivated and unsustainable in law".
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.
In a massive setback to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi high court on Tuesday dismissed his petition challenging his arrest in a money laundering case stemming from the alleged excise scam, saying there was no contravention of legal provisions.
Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh Friday reiterated his party's allegation that a deep conspiracy is being hatched against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and anything can happen with him in prison.
Special Judge M K Nagpal reserved the order after hearing arguments on his application seeking relief claiming his custody is no longer required for investigation.
The response was issued by the jail administration after statements were made by AAP MP Sanjay Singh and MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday began the second round of questioning of former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia at the Tihar Jail in New Delhi in connection with its money laundering probe into alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy, officials said.
Kejriwal has been asked to be present at the agency headquarters at 11 am to answer queries of the investigating team.
Sisodia said he will fully cooperate with the CBI that has summoned him for questioning in the excise policy case.
The ED had arrested Kejriwal on March 21, hours after the high court refused to grant him protection from coercive action by the federal anti-money laundering agency.
The MLC daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao reached the ED office in central Delhi from the Tughlaq Road official residence of her father around 11.30 am and left shortly after 9.40 pm.
Bharat Rashtra Samiti leader K Kavitha on Thursday skipped the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons here for questioning in the Delhi excise policy money laundering case and made a plea to defer the proceedings but it was rejected by the probe agency which asked her to appear on March 20.
A Delhi court on Wednesday sent former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia to 14-day judicial custody in a money laundering case arising out of the excise policy matter.
Sisodia is presently lodged in Tihar jail number 1, where he stays in his separate cell shared with two more inmates, who are lodged in non-heinous cases, official sources said.
Special Judge M K Nagpal, who deferred the hearing on Sisodia's bail plea till March 24 for clarification and submissions, meanwhile issued a notice to the Enforcement Directorate and sought its response by March 25.
The complaint was filed before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra, who put up the matter for further hearing on February 7.
Kejriwal told the court that he was unable to appear before it due to the ongoing Budget session of the Delhi assembly.
Chief Minister-designate Atishi will be sworn in along with her new Council of ministers during a ceremony at the Raj Niwas on Saturday afternoon that will see Aam Aadmi Party form the government in Delhi for the fourth time in a row.
BJP in Telangana alleged that the ruling BRS is behind the posters.
Earlier in the day, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said he will look into Kejriwal's request for an early listing of his plea against a high court order upholding his arrest.
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.
Kavitha said 'these tactics of intimidation' against the fight of her father and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and the BRS would not deter them.
Whether AAP bounces back or fades into political oblivion will depend on its strategy in the coming months.
The court said it is a matter of propriety but there is no legal right seeking removal of Kejriwal as chief minister following his arrest.
The court said his release may adversely impact the ongoing investigation and 'seriously hamper' its progress.
In an interaction with PTI editors at its headquarters in New Delhi, Baniwal also said no distinction is made in the treatment meted out to the inmates and it is ensured they get the same basic right.
The agency may also inform the court about its requirement to confront Kejriwal with other arrested accused and witnesses including Bharat Rashtra Samiti leader K Kavitha, arrested last week, once they get his custody.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was questioned for nearly nine hours by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday in the excise policy case, amid protests by his party as the Aam Aadmi Party chief claimed that the allegations of scam were false and the agency was acting at the Bharatiya Janata Party's behest.
A Delhi court on Friday sent former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, arrested in a money laundering case related to the excise policy, to the Enforcement Directorate's custody till March 17.
Officials said the agency may ask the chief minister about the policy formulation process especially of the "untraceable" file which was earlier slated to be put before the Council of Ministers.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who headed the bench which heard Kejriwal's petition against his arrest in the case, said, "We will pronounce the interim order (on interim bail) on Friday. The main matter related to the challenge to arrest will also be taken on the same day."
Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal claimed on Wednesday that Delhi Chief Minister Atishi may be arrested in a 'fake' case by the central investigative agencies at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Ministry of External Affairs officials summoned the Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena at its office in South Block in Delhi and lodged a strong protest against a US State Department official's remarks on Kejriwal's arrest.
Kejriwal, the AAP national convenor, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday night in connection with an excise policy-linked money laundering case.
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.
Justifying his arrest, the ED said Kejriwal had been arrested bona fide and not for any mala fide or extraneous reasons.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear on March 24 a plea by K Kavitha, Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader and daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, seeking protection from arrest and challenging the summons by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case arising out of the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.
The Delhi high court on Tuesday rebuked Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for 'casting aspersions' on the judicial process with his claim about an approver in the money laundering case against him making donations to the Bharatiya Janata Party through electoral bonds, saying the law relating to approvers was over 100 years old and not enacted to falsely implicate the Aam Aadmi Party leader.
