New Delhi, Mar 28:
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and asked the central agency to file its reply by April 3 on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea that his arrest by ED should be declared illegal, and all proceedings related to it be quashed.
A single judge Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said, “This Court remains conscious of the fact that to conclude as to whether the petitioner herein is entitled to immediate release or not, this Court will necessarily have to decide the issues after hearing the other side.”
The court said since the questions raised by the petitioner are the edifice of arguments for his immediate release, it would be appropriate to issue a notice of the main writ petition as well as the application for grant of interim relief, returnable on April 03, 2024, the court said.
Zoheb Hossain, Special Counsel, accepted the notice on behalf of the Directorate of Enforcement.
The court further directed the ED to ensure that replies are filed to the main petition as well as the application for interim release of the petitioner byApril 2. The anti-money laundering agency was also asked to ensure that the copies of the replies in digitised form as well as hard copy be provided to the counsel for the petitioner.
The application as well as the main petition will be taken up for final disposal on April 03. No adjournment shall be granted on the said date, the court said.
Kejriwal in his petition before the Delhi High Court contented that his arrest was “arbitrary and unconstitutional” and should be set aside. Kejriwal contended the entire proceedings relating to it including the arrest order on March 21, 2024, should be quasehd as it represented “a gross and blatant abuse of the process of law as well as a perversion of power and authority”, infringing on the petitioner’s fundamental rights as guaranteed under articles 14, 19, 21 and 22(1) & (2) of the Constitution of India.
