I am victim of Enforcement Directorate’s ‘witch-hunt’, Arvind Kejriwal tells Delhi High Court

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has told the Delhi High Court that he is a victim of the Enforcement Directorate’s “witch-hunt” and that cancellation of his bail in the liquor policy case would amount to a miscarriage of justice, reported Live Law on Wednesday.

Opposing the Enforcement Directorate’s appeal against bail granted to him by a lower court, Kejriwal said that the central agency was using illegal means of "pressurising" other accused persons in the case.

The Aam Aadmi Party chief said the Enforcement Directorate was persuading the other accused persons to make incriminating statements in lieu of “no objection” by the prosecution when they apply for bail.

On June 20, vacation judge Nyay Bindu of the Rouse Avenue Courts granted bail to Kejriwal. The High Court, however, issued an interim stay on the order the next day as it allowed an urgent hearing of a petition by the Enforcement Directorate.

In his response in the High Court, the Delhi chief minister refuted the Enforcement Directorate’s claims that the trial court did not give the central agency a fair chance to address the argument.

Kejriwal said that the bail order was not only well reasoned, but the judge had prima facie shown the application of mind in considering as well as faithfully recording and dealing with the arguments from both sides.

The Aam Aadmi Party chief said that the Enforcement Directorate’s submissions are untenable by law and show its “apathy, insensitivity and overbearing as well as over-reaching attitude” towards courts.

“With utmost respect, the language employed by the ED in the grounds urged before this Hon’ble Court insofar as the Ld. Special Judge is concerned ought to be frowned upon by this Hon’ble Court and strictures deserve to be cast as such kind of remarks and insinuations will not only be detrimental to the cause of justice but would also render our District Judiciary to be demoralized,” said Kejriwal.

He said that no offence is made him under Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and therefore his life and liberty should be protected from “unwarranted and unjustified violation” by the agency on the basis of a “false, malicious and motivated case without any merit.”

Section 3 of the Act states: “Whosoever directly or indirectly attempts to indulge or knowingly assists or knowingly is a party or is actually involved in any process or activity connected with proceeds of crime and projecting it as untainted property shall be guilty of the offence of money-laundering.”

Kejriwal said that the investigating officer had probed nothing relevant and that he had been arrested with the intention to humiliate an Opposition leader.

“There exists no proof or material demonstrating that the AAP received funds or advanced kickbacks from the South group, let alone utilizing them in the Goa election campaign,” he said in the reply. “Not a single rupee was traced back to the AAP, and the allegations put forth in this regard are devoid of any tangible evidence, rendering them vague and baseless without any corroboration.”

The matter was taken up for hearing on Wednesday but was deferred to July 15 after the Enforcement Directorate sought more time to file its counter affidavit to Kejriwal's reply.

On Tuesday, the trial court took cognizance of the seventh chargesheet filed by the agency in the case.

The Aam Aadmi Party chief was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21. The Enforcement Directorate is investigating allegations of money laundering in the liquor policy case based on a first information report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The two central agencies have alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party government modified Delhi’s now-scrapped liquor policy by increasing the commission for wholesalers from 5% to 12%. This allegedly facilitated the receipt of bribes from wholesalers who had a substantial market share and turnover.