The Delhi High Court is set to hear Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s petition challenging the summonses issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday, in connection with an excise policy-linked money laundering case.
Kejriwal, who was arrested by the agency on March 21 following the high court’s refusal to grant him interim protection from coercive action, has also contested the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) concerning arrest, questioning, and bail.
The plea is slated for hearing before the bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Manoj Jain.
The following day, the court instructed the ED to also address Kejriwal’s plea for protection from arrest, stating that it was presently disinclined to grant interim relief. Later that evening, Kejriwal was arrested by the ED and is currently in judicial custody.
The federal probe agency alleges that the accused were in contact with Kejriwal to devise the now-repealed excise policy, resulting in undue benefits to them in exchange for kickbacks to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Kejriwal’s plea raises several concerns, including whether a political party falls under the purview of anti-money laundering laws. It contends that the arbitrary procedures under the PMLA are being exploited to tilt the electoral process in favor of the ruling party at the Centre.
Describing the petitioner as a “vocal critic” of the ruling party and a partner of the INDIA bloc, the plea asserts that the ED, under the control of the Union government, has been “weaponized.
