Arvind Kejriwal’s Petition Against Arrest Rejected, to Remain in Jail

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest was upheld and his plea dismissed by the court. The court noted the submission of statements by approvers and a candidate from AAP Goa claiming to have received alleged kickbacks. This resulted in the court upholding earlier remand orders, sending Kejriwal to the ED’s custody and then to Delhi’s Tihar Jail until April 15.

Kejriwal, the first sitting Chief Minister to be taken into custody, had the court sternly stating that doubting grant of pardon to accused “amounts to casting aspersions on the judicial process.” The court emphasized that the law in question is over 100 years old and not enacted to falsely implicate the petitioner. The court noted that one of the approvers did not initially implicate Mr Singh, stating that Kejriwal would have an opportunity to inspect and question all such documents at the appropriate stage, but that this is not that stage.

It was argued that the arrest was meant to “demolish Aam Aadmi Party before the first vote is cast,” raising questions of the urgency of the matter. The High Court stressed that political considerations cannot be brought before a court of law and that the case is between Arvind Kejriwal and the ED. The probe agency argued that Kejriwal ought not to be released due to being “uncooperative” and “evasive” during questioning and the potential influence on witnesses or tampering with evidence if freed.

The allegations involved recovery of bribes and their usage as poll expenses, both of which Kejriwal and the AAP have repeatedly denied, citing a political conspiracy against the Chief Minister. The text regarding NDTV being available on WhatsApp channels was not included in the summary.