Supreme Court to hear Kejriwal’s petition against arrest today
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi mentioned the case before the regular bench of Justice Khanna, who agreed to hear the matter
A special Supreme Court bench will on Friday hear Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s petition against his arrest a day earlier for his role in the alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped 2021-22 Delhi excise policy.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi mentioned Kejriwal’s plea before Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, who asked him to do so before a special bench hearing Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Kavitha’s matter.
The special bench comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna, MM Sundresh, and Bela M Trivedi had, however, risen. Singhvi mentioned the case before the regular bench of Justice Khanna, who agreed to hear the matter.
The special bench will be reconstituted later in the day to hear Kejriwal’s petition against his arrest. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a caveat. Solicitor-general Tushar Mehta and additional solicitor-general SV Raju were present before Justice Khanna when Singhvi mentioned Kejriwal’s plea.
The Supreme Court refused to entertain Kavitha’s bail plea against her arrest in the money-laundering case related to alleged Delhi excise policy irregularities.
Kejriwal was also due to be produced before a special court at Rouse Avenue on Friday, where the ED will seek his custody.
The ED arrested Kejriwal on Thursday hours after the Delhi high court turned down his plea for interim protection. The high court asked Kejriwal why he had not approached the lower court seeking anticipatory bail if he was apprehending arrest.
Kejriwal skipped nine ED summonses on the grounds that they were “illegal”. He argued that ED had not specified in which capacity he was being called in — as an accused or witness, as chief minister, or as national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party.