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New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, arrested in the case of alleged scam in the new liquor policy in Delhi, had to face two contradictory situations in the same day in the court. On one hand, the High Court has given him relief by rejecting the petition to remove him from the post of Chief Minister, on the other hand, the Rouse Avenue Court has given him a shock by sending him on remand for five days. Today at this stage it is clear that AAP has been allowed to run the Delhi government from jail, but if he is not released from arrest, his jail term will increase. Delhi High Court said that this is a political matter and there is no need for the judiciary to interfere in it. Government cannot be allowed to run from jail. Relief has come from the High Court's decision, the day after Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena's claim that he would impose President's rule in Delhi if necessary.
The bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan Singh and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora of Delhi High Court heard the petition to remove Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal from the post. After this he rejected this application. On the petition of social activist Surjeet Singh Yadav, the High Court said, is there any possibility of interference in the judicial system? We read in the newspaper today that LG is examining the current situation. Then they will go before the President. We believe that some political difficulties may arise. We do not need to teach the LG or the President. How can we intervene? I am sure the administration will take care of this.
The bench said that it may be difficult to run the government from jail. In practice this is very difficult. We accept all this, but is there any scope for judicial intervention in this matter at this stage? If there is any constitutional crisis then the President or LG will work on it. It may take time, but I am sure they will decide on it. The situation we are in today was not imagined. There are no legal hurdles today. He will not enter politics. Political parties will get trapped in this. They will go before the public. We don't have to go. There is no need for intervention in this matter. The High Court also made it clear that it did not want to comment on the merits of the issue.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, arrested by the ED in the alleged liquor scam in Delhi, was produced before the Rouse Avenue Court in the afternoon after his 7-day remand ended on Thursday. ED asked for 7 more days remand of Kejriwal. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the ED, said that Kejriwal's statement has been recorded and he is not giving direct answers to the questions. Whatever digital data has been found is being investigated. Some people have been called from Goa. Statement will be recorded in front of him.
ED's arguments also revealed that the investigating agency has also seized the phone of Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal. ED claimed that Kejriwal is not cooperating in the investigation. They do not reveal their phone password. The ED said data from a mobile phone has been recovered and is being analyzed. However, data from the other 4 digital devices is yet to be extracted. These people may want to speak to their lawyer to provide their password and login details.
Now AAP President in Goa on ED radar
After Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, ED is now preparing to crack down on Aam Aadmi Party's Goa President Amit Palekar.
Palekar was questioned in the money laundering case on Thursday. ED on Thursday called Amit Palekar, Ramarao Wagh, Datta Prasad Naik and Bhandari Samaj president Ashok Naik for questioning. Earlier, ED had arrested Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Kejriwal in the liquor scam. The claim in the remand petition at the time of Kejriwal's arrest had alleged that the 'AAP' party was the main beneficiary of the proceeds from the Delhi liquor scam. The agency claimed that the largest part of the scam was in cash and the AAP's election campaign in the 2022 Goa assembly elections was worth Rs. 45 crores were spent.
Kejriwal's arguments in Rouse Avenue Court
ED checked 25,000 pages, but my name is nowhere
– ED wants to eliminate AAP by calling it a corrupt party, my arrest is a political conspiracy, the public will answer.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was disappointed with Rouse Avenue Court. The trial court sent him on ED remand for the next five days. However, before this Kejriwal himself had argued in this matter. He accused BJP of ruining AAP on the pretext of alleged liquor scam. He said that I have been arrested only on the basis of statements.
During the hearing on Thursday, Kejriwal himself started giving arguments. He raised the issue of donation of Rs 52 crore given to BJP through electoral bonds by Aurobindo Pharma, the company of Sharat Reddy, another accused in the case. Sharath Reddy was released from jail after my name was included in the case after donating to BJP through electoral bonds. Kejriwal further said that this matter has been going on for two years. CBI case was registered in August 2022. I was arrested when no court found me guilty. The ED has arrested me only on the basis of the statements of four people. He was forced to give a statement against me. Let me tell you that I have given money to PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. If I have given a bribe of Rs 100 crore, will there be a case against him only on the basis of my statement? Referring to Mangutha Sraghinivasulu Reddy, he said that his statements were continuous till the arrest of his son. As soon as his son was arrested, he changed his statement and within the next few days the son was released.
Kejriwal argued that ED has examined 25 thousand pages. Even one of those statements is not enough to arrest the current Chief Minister. Government witness Magunta Reddy in the liquor scam gave a total of seven statements but the ED used only the 7th statement. Previous statements omitted. Sharath Reddy made nine statements, but my name is not in any of them. The real scam started after the ED investigation. ED's intention is to destroy AAP and do extortion scam. ED is misleading the court and the country in this case and wants to show that AAP is a corrupt party. They want to break 'AAP'.
