SC questions ED over 'ignoring' witness statements in Arvind Kejriwal's favour

Delhi CM Kejriwal to conduct roadshow to with Akhilesh Yadav

The Supreme Court on May 16 questioned the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over allegedly ignoring statements in Arvind Kejriwal's favour while arresting him based on statements made against him by the same persons.

A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Deepankar Datta pondered over whether the court should analyse these aspects before deciding these cases. They opined that the courts would be able to come to a proper conclusion only if they understand the contents of statements made in favour and against an accused.

Kejriwal has alleged that statements made against him were obtained by ED through coercion. He alleged that Magunta Srinivas Reddy (MP from Andhra Pradesh); his son Raghav Magunta, and Aurobindo Pharma Director Sarath Reddy gave statements against him under pressure from the ED, as they did not name them in their initial statements. Kejriwal also alleged that all of them were released on bail shortly after they gave statements against him.

The ED today made elaborate arguments on why Kejriwal's arrest is constitutionally valid and why his plea was not maintainable. ED was represented by  Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta and Additional SG SV Raju.

Mehta  questioned the maintainability of Kejriwal's plea on the ground that  it was for the trial court and not constitution court that must analyse whether Kejriwal was arrested in compliance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. According to Mehta, entertaining the plea would open flood gates as litigants would look to circumvent the trial court.

"This is a petition under Article 227 read with Section 482 and my attempt is going to be that everyone cannot take recourse to this plea and if this entertained and there will be many such pleas," the SG said.

The SG further contended that Kejriwal's plea was like conducting a mini trial in the Supreme Court without first going to the trial court. The court however said that this was not the first time such a plea was entertained, there have also been popular cases in the past.  Mehta furthermore contended that the orders remanding Kejriwal to custody were passed after Kejriwal did not object to them.

The SG also rebuffed the allegations that ED was making a large number of arrests in the country. According to him, ED had made 313 arrests in the country since 2022.

ASG Raju argued that while ED was required to give reasons at the time of arrest, it need not go into the merits  or demerits of such reason. Raju added that whenever the 'reason' word is used in criminal law, it means reasons and not merits or demerits of reasons.

The court will now continue hearing the case on May 17.

The outcome of the plea was closely tracked as the Aam Aadmi Party chief’s arrest has become a poll issue, with the party accusing the BJP of political vendetta and misusing probe agencies to pressure opponents. The BJP accuses AAP and Kejriwal of widespread corruption.

On May 10, the court granted interim bail to Kejriwal till June 1 to campaign for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. It denied his request for bail till June 4, the day results would be declared, and said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief must surrender to the prison authorities by June 2. Kejriwal was lodged in the high-security Tihar Jail in the national capital.

Giving him relief, the court had said Kejriwal had no criminal antecedents and was not a threat to society but it barred him from visiting the office of the CM and the Delhi Secretariat. He has also been told not to sign files unless required and necessary for obtaining clearance or approval of the lieutenant governor of Delhi.

Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21. His senior party colleagues, including Manish Sisodia, who had to step down as the deputy chief minister, too, have been arrested in the case.

Kejriwal moved the court against the Delhi High Court order that upheld his arrest. The high court said the material collected by ED showed the chief minister was actively involved in the use of proceeds of crime.

The AAP convener is a part of the Congress-led INDIA opposition bloc. It is contesting four of the seven seats in Delhi, with the Congress fighting the remaining three. Delhi will vote on May 25. AAP, which is the ruling party, is contesting all 13 seats in Punjab where voting will be held on June 1.