The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced on Tuesday its intention to challenge the Delhi High Court’s decision to reject Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea against his arrest. Delhi minister and AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj stated that the party would move the Supreme Court to contest the ruling.
“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,” Bharadwaj remarked.
Advocate Rishikesh Kumar, representing Kejriwal, emphasized that they had contested the “illegal arrest” of the Delhi Chief Minister. He highlighted the findings of the High Court, which deemed the remand order legal and justified the grounds for Kejriwal’s arrest. Kumar stated that they would promptly challenge the decision in the Supreme Court once the detailed order was available.
The case revolves around alleged corruption and money laundering linked to the formulation and implementation of Delhi’s excise policy for 2021-22, subsequently scrapped.
Bharadwaj expressed confidence in the Supreme Court’s intervention, citing previous instances of relief granted to AAP leaders. He affirmed, “We have full faith in the Supreme Court that just like Sanjay Singh got relief, Arvind Kejriwal will also get relief.”
The Delhi High Court’s rejection of Kejriwal’s plea underscored the seriousness of the allegations. The court emphasized that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) possessed substantial evidence justifying the CM’s arrest. Additionally, the delays caused by Kejriwal were deemed to have affected individuals already in custody.
“The petitioner has been arrested in a money laundering case, and the courts have to consider the same with regards to the law in the absence of timing of arrest,” the High Court stated. It dismissed the notion that the arrest timing was influenced by external factors such as the declaration of Lok Sabha elections.
As AAP prepares to escalate the legal battle to the Supreme Court, the case surrounding Kejriwal’s arrest continues to unfold amidst allegations of corruption and money laundering.
