Supreme Court Questions Arvind Kejriwal on Failure to Seek Bail, Receives His Response

Arvind Kejriwal has been vocal in condemning his arrest as being politically motivated. According to senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Mr. Kejriwal’s name was not included in 10 documents, which included CBI chargesheets and ED prosecution complaint, until December 2023. He was apprehended from his home without prior questioning or recording of his statement as required by the anti-money laundering law.

Senior advocate Singhvi emphasized that the power to arrest should not be equated with the necessity to arrest, and that guilt, not mere suspicion, must be established. He also highlighted the threshold set in Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Mr. Kejriwal has challenged his arrest in the top court and filed an application for interim release, asserting that the arrest was illegal and thus his subsequent custody was also unlawful.

It was explained that the Supreme Court was approached due to its wider jurisdiction, rather than filing a petition for bail in the trial court. Following the Delhi High Court’s refusal to grant him protection, Mr. Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 and is currently being held in Tihar jail. He argued that the denial of interim bail cannot justify his arrest, emphasizing that it occurred after 1.5 years and was carried out without recording his Section 50 statement.

In his affidavit, Mr. Kejriwal condemned his arrest as politically motivated, alleging that it was intended to provide unfair advantages to the ruling party during the ongoing general election. He further argued that his case exemplifies the misuse of investigative agencies by the Central government to harass political opponents. On the other hand, the Enforcement Directorate contended that Mr. Kejriwal’s arrest became necessary due to his “total non-cooperative attitude,” citing his avoidance of interrogation and evasiveness during the recording of his statement under Section 17 of the PMLA.

The hearing will continue tomorrow.