Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the liquor policy case was an “insurance arrest”, Bar and Bench reported.
His remarks came as the court reserved its verdict on a petition filed by the Aam Aadmi Party chief challenging his arrest by the central agency in the case. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna also reserved her order on his interim bail petition.
On July 12, the Supreme Court granted Kejriwal interim bail in the case filed against him by the Enforcement Directorate in the matter. However, Kejriwal remained in jail as he was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the same case on June 25.
On Wednesday, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, told the High Court that the chief minister’s arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation was an “insurance arrest” that came because it thought he would get relief in money-laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate, Bar and Bench reported.
Kejriwal is “back to square one because of the insurance arrest” despite the top court’s interim bail, Singhvi said according to Live Law. “Because those who want it, by hook or by crook, he is behind bars,” he said.
Kejriwal also had three release orders in his favour, Singhvi added, according to Live Law.
The application submitted to the trial court by the Central Bureau of Investigation seeking Kejriwal’s arrest did not include provisions under which it was done, Singhvi said. He contended that prior notice was also not given to the chief minister.
In response, the Central Bureau of Investigation, represented by Special Public Prosecutor DP Singh, claimed that the term “insurance arrest” was not justified, Live Law reported.
Singh also noted that the Delhi Prison Rules mandated seeking the permission of a court to interrogate an individual in the court’s custody. However, the central agency did not have to provide Kejriwal prior notice on his arrest, he added.
Multiple petitions and applications had been filed in the court and there were no observations about violations by the central agency till date, he added.
Singh alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party leader was trying to derail the central agency’s investigation by placing the blame on others during questioning. The prosecutor also noted that the agency was in its final stages of putting together the chargesheet against Kejriwal.
According to Singh, it would be rational if the chief minister’s application for bail was first argued before a trial court. Kejriwal had approached the High Court for bail in the case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation without going to the trial court.
“That [trial] court should be the first court which should have rational reasons for grant or denial of bail,” Singh said. “I am not arguing on bail because I’ll rather await your lordships decision on whether arrest was legal or not.”
The court then listed the hearing on the main bail petition filed by Kejriwal on July 29, Bar and Bench reported.
The Aam Aadmi Party chief was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21. The Enforcement Directorate is also 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.
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