Allegations of separatism against Arvind Kejriwal: Punjab & Haryana High Court stays arrest of Kumar Vishwas

The Punjab & Haryana High Court on Monday stayed the arrest of Kumar Vishwas in relation to the allegations of separatism he made against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal [Kumar Vishwas v. State of Punjab]..Justice Anoop Chitkara stayed criminal proceedings against Vishwas, while reasoning that the submission that the FIR was politically motivated could not be ruled out.“Even if all the allegations made in the complaint and the prompt investigation, which has covered almost all aspects, are hypothetically believed as gospel truth, still prima facie the evidence collected does not disclose the commission of any cognizable offence qua the petitioner,” the single-judge observed..In a nutshell- Kumar Vishwas, a founding member of the the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) moved the High Court aggrieved by an FIR claiming that he was abetting violence by making false accusations against Arvind Kejriwal;- The complainants alleged that in interviews that took place in February 2022, Vishwas levelled allegations of “separatism” on AAP’s leadership;- It was their stand that these interviews led to violence against workers and supporters of the party in April;- The Court found a lack of proximity between the two events;- Unable to rule out political motivation behind the FIR, the Court stayed the arrest of Vishwas..The issue arose in February 2022, when Vishwas gave an interview during the Vidhan Sabha elections alleging Kejriwal’s involvement with certain nefarious and anti-social elements. He had said in the interview,"One day, he told me not to worry because either he would become Chief Minister of an independent State… On this, I (Kumar Vishwas) confronted him by saying this is separatism, the referendum of 2020 is coming, and the world is funding it, from ISI to the separatist groups… He said, so what, then, he would become Prime Minister of an Independent country. Look so much separatism is in this man's thoughts to form Government, and acquire power at whatever cost."The complainant stated that workers, volunteers, supporters, and leaders of the AAP had to bear the brunt of people’s wrath following this interview and others..They informed the Court that on April 12, there was an attempt to assault them by people who appeared to be furious due to the AAP’s victory in the assembly elections.It was stated that the attackers called them names such as, “Khalistani, Gaddar,” and raised slogans like, “Kejriwal; Mann ki Sarkar Hai Hai,” “Khalistani Sarkar Hai Hai,” “Punjab Khalistan Nahi Banega.”Therefore, they filed a written complaint against Vishwas for running a vicious campaign in collusion with vested elements to abet the use of violence, to spread feelings of enmity, hatred, and ill-will, and to disrupt peace and tranquillity..Aggrieved by the FIR, Vishwas moved the High Court seeking a stay of proceedings..The Court began by stating that the interview and the alleged attack lacked proximity.“A perusal of the complaint and the investigation do not point out that the interviews of the petitioner triggered the incidents of Chamkaur Sahib or of April 12, as a domino effect.”.Justice Chitkara said that accusing Vishwas by linking his interviews with a “stray incident” which occurred eight weeks later, fell in the category of exceptional cases where if the Court refused to interfere, it would result in a miscarriage of justice.“Thus, it is a perfect case to disrupt and stay the continuation of the investigation and further proceedings.”It was underscored that the allegations made in the complaint did not contain any material to even remotely link the incident of April 12 with the interviews..Thus, the Court stayed the proceedings initiated against Vishwas. The plea was adjourned to July 4 for final hearing..Senior Advocates Randeep Rai, Chetan Mittal along with Advocates Mayank Aggarwal, Rubina Virmani and Karan Pathak appeared for Vishwas.The State was represented by Senior Advocate Puneet Bali, Advocate Prashant Manchanda, Senior Deputy Advocate General VG Jauhar, and Additional Advocate General HS Multani.Senior Advocate Vinod Ghai, along with Advocates Kanika Ahuja, Kirti Ahuja, Edward Augustine George and Mahima Dogra appeared for the complainant..[Read Order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.