NEW DELHI
Unable to answer the questions raised in the Delhi High Court regarding the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal today, the BJP’s political weapon, the Enforcement Director has sought more time from the court to provide its response.
Addressing the press conference after today’s hearing in the Delhi High Court, AAP senior leader and Cabinet Minister Atishi said, “The matter of CM Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest was heard in the Delhi High Court today. There were two major points highlighted from this hearing in the High Court. Firstly, when the lawyers of Shri Arvind Kejriwal argued that this arrest is completely illegal, non-democratic, and politically motivated and there is no evidence to support the arrest of CM Arvind Kejriwal, the ED had nothing concrete to answer; it failed to answer—the same ED that had been investigating this case for the past two years had put hundreds of officers on this case, and raided thousands of places.”
She said it is the same ED which had been repeatedly stating in court that Manish Sisodia should not get bail, Sanjay Singh, and Vijay Nayar, should not get bail.
Atishi said today the same ED has no reply to the questions from the High Court and the lawyers of Arvind Kejriwal. Today, the ED asked for time in the High Court to reply to the queries of the judges. This means now, to give an answer to the court, the ED will go back and fabricate a story, and pressurize witnesses to give statements against Arvind Kejriwal.
The AAP senior leader further said, “So, today the whole nation saw that the ED, which has been investigating the case for two years, did not have any answer to the questions of the Court. Also, today, another important point that has been highlighted in the orders of the court is that the court has also questioned the arrest of Shri Arvind Kejriwal.”
In its order, in paragraph no.15, the High Court has clearly mentioned that “The Court is further of the opinion that the present petition raises several issues of legality and validity regarding the arrest and remand of the petitioner Shri Arvind Kejriwal. Additionally, we question whether the arrest may be politically motivated and mala fide.”
Further, it states that “There are serious and critical questions before this court and this court being a constitutional court must apply its mind to the motive behind the arrest which is patently illegal and has a direct bearing on the democratic process of impending elections in the country.”
Atishi said that today, even the court has taken note that this arrest could be illegal, undemocratic, and politically motivated. It questioned the manner in which Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the ED, and today the Delhi High Court also raised concerns about this arrest. Additionally, the Delhi High Court has given the ED only one week to file its response, by April 2. The ED will not be granted any further time, and on April 3, the High Court will give its decision regarding the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal. We hope that the judiciary of our country will continue to play the role it has in safeguarding democracy in the future as well, added the senior AAP leader.
