Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal (File).
New Delhi:
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal – who skipped nine summons by the Enforcement Directorate before his dramatic arrest late last evening, in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam – has withdrawn a Supreme Court petition against his arrest, sources told NDTV Friday morning.
Mr Kejriwal, sources said, will now approach a trial court, in accordance with protocol. The Chief Minister – who spent the night at the ED’s office on Delhi’s Abdul Kalam Road – will also be produced before a special court that deals with the probe agency’s cases.
“We are withdrawing the petition here (from the Supreme Court) as it is clashing with the remand. We will argue the remand and come back here . I will give a letter to regarding withdrawal,” senior adovcate Abhishek Manu Singhvi told the top court.
The Aam Aadmi Party chief’s move comes hours after Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Kavitha – arrested last week in the same case – saw her petition denied by the top court. In fact, the same bench that heard Ms Kavitha’s case had been assigned to hear the plea by Arvind Kejriwal.
LIVE COVERAGE | Arvind Kejriwal Withdraws Petition, AAP Ministers Detained
Ms Kavitha was told to approach the trial court for relief, including bail. A bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice MM Sundresh, and Justice Bela Trivedi refused to take up the petition. The court said it could not allow individuals to approach it directly – without going through the lower courts – simply because they were persons of influence, such as a senior political leader or a Chief Minister.
Given the court’s reaction to Ms Kavitha’s petition, Mr Kejriwal’s legal team said it had withdrawn its plea as it did not expect a positive response. Sources said the team believed the plea would be pointless since Mr Kejriwal has already been arrested, and the court, in the BRS leader’s case, had remarked “… just because you have the means (power and/or money) we can’t entertain you”.
READ | Supreme Court Refuses To Take Up BRS Leader K Kavitha’s Petition
Meanwhile, sources within Mr Kejriwal’s legal team have said there is no reason why the AAP boss – whose arrest weeks before a general election has sparked furious nationwide protests – cannot continue as Delhi Chief Minister. Sources said Mr Kejriwal had not been convicted, only accused.
READ | Can Arvind Kejriwal Function As Chief Minister From Jail? Rules Say…
The AAP had insisted that come what may Mr Kejriwal – who is the first sitting Chief Minister to be arrested – will function as the head of government, even if it meant doing so from inside jail.
Scores of AAP workers and Delhi Ministers – Atishi, who slammed Mr Kejriwal’s arrest a “political conspiracy” and Saurabh Bhardwaj – leading a massive protest in the city have been detained.
Dramatic visuals showed them being taken away in a police bus. In anticipation of more protests, the cops (who report to the Union Home Ministry) have barricaded roads leading to the AAP’s and BJP’s offices, and deployed paramilitary forces, water cannons and riot control forces in sensitive areas.
The protests that have erupted against Mr Kejriwal’s arrest includes supportive statements by nearly all opposition parties, particularly those that are part of the INDIA bloc, of which the AAP is a member. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is expected to meet Mr Kejriwal’s family later today.
Also, the AAP has claimed the Chief Minister’s family is, effectively, under house arrest.
READ | “Kejriwal’s Family Under House Arrest”: Delhi Minister Gopal Rai
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah told NDTV he feared Mr Kejriwal’s arrest would give the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party an excuse to impose President’s Rule in Delhi. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor questioned Mr Kejriwal’s arrest and pointed to the freezing of his party’s finances – leaving it almost penniless days for the poll – and asked if this will, in fact, be a “free and fair election”.
READ | “Devilish Power”: Opposition Slams BJP After Arvind Kejriwal’s Arrest
Arvind Kejriwal was arrested Thursday evening hours after the Delhi High Court refused to grant him protection from arrest. A team of 12 officials rushed to his residence, where they questioned him, seized documents and other materials, and then, at 9 pm, arrested the three-time Chief Minister.
Mr Kejriwal has been arrested in the Delhi liquor policy scam case; the central agency has accused the AAP leader of being a “conspirator”. The ED believes the now-scrapped policy provided an impossibly high profit margin of nearly 185 per cent for retailers and 12 per cent for wholesalers.
Of the latter, six per cent was to be recovered by the AAP as bribes, which amounted to over Rs 338 crore. Nearly a third of this, the ED has alleged, was paid by a ‘south group’ that included BRS leader K Kavitha. These proceeds were then allegedly used by the AAP for election campaign expenses.
Apart from Mr Kejriwal, two prominent AAP leaders – Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia – have also been arrested in connection with this case. Mr Singh was arrested on October 5 and Mr Sisodia over a year ago – on February 26. Neither has received any relief from the top court, underlining how likely it is that Mr Kejriwal too will not get any help.
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