Kejriwal to seek relief from SC following Delhi HC setback

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will approach the Supreme Court against a high court order dismissing the plea against his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering case linked to the excise policy, the AAP said on Tuesday.

Hours after the high court decision, the AAP said the “so-called excise policy scam” is the “biggest political conspiracy” to finish off the party and Kejriwal.

Senior AAP leader and Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said at a press conference, “We respect the institution of the high court but we respectfully submit that we do not agree with its order and will move the Supreme Court against it.”

He claimed that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have failed to recover even one rupee of illegal money in the “so-called excise policy case”. “The entire matter is not related to money laundering, rather it’s the biggest political conspiracy of the country. It’s a conspiracy to crush and finish off Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and AAP governments in Delhi and Punjab,” he said.

Bharadwaj said they are hopeful that the Supreme Court will provide relief to Kejriwal in the same way it granted bail to AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh in the case. Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed Kejriwal’s plea. “The court is of the view that the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal was not in contravention of legal provisions. The remand can’t be held to be illegal,” said Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma while delivering the verdict.

Besides his arrest, Kejriwal, who is currently in judicial custody, also challenged his subsequent remand in ED custody.