Arvind Kejriwal plea against ED arrest to be heard by Supreme Court on Monday

The Supreme Court will hear on April 15 (Monday) the plea by jailed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal challenging his arrest and remand by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the excise policy case. [Arvind Kejriwal vs Directorate of Enforcement]..The matter is listed before a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta..Kejriwal moved the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court dismissed his plea.The order was passed by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, who said that there was evidence to show that Kejriwal's involvement in the alleged scam.The High Court further said that the money received as kickbacks was used for political campaigning in the 2022 Goa legislative assembly elections.The ED’s money laundering probe stems from a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on August 17, 2022 in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy for 2021-22. The CBI case was registered on a complaint made by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on July 20, 2022. It has been alleged that a criminal conspiracy was hatched by AAP leaders, including former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and other unidentified and unnamed private persons/entities during the stage of the policy’s formulation.The conspiracy, it has been alleged, stemmed from some of the loopholes “intentionally” left or created in the policy. These were allegedly meant to favour some licensees and conspirators post the tender process.Several AAP leaders including former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Member of Parliament Sanjay Singh were arrested by the ED in connection with the case.Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 and then produced before Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court, which initially remanded him to ED custody till March 28.The ED's custody over him was later extended till April 1. Thereafter, he was sent to judicial custody till April 15.Meanwhile, he challenged his arrest and remand before the High Court, which eventually refused him relief.In his plea before the High Court, Kejriwal contended that the Central government was misusing the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) - under which he was arrested - to create a non-level playing field in the lead up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.The Central government is trying to skew the electoral process in the favour of the ruling party at the Centre (Bharatiya Janata Party), which controls the ED through the Ministry of Finance, Kejriwal alleged.He is presently lodged in Tihar Jail.