‘Will you arrest Arvind Kejriwal again?’: Delhi high court asks Enforcement Directorate

The Delhi high court on Wednesday sought to know from the Enforcement Directorate what would it do if the court allowed its plea seeking cancellation of bail granted to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. The court asked the agency if it would arrest the AAP chief again.

The court asked the query because the Supreme Court had already granted him interim bail in the money-laundering case linked to the now-scrapped excise policy.

The high court said it was only an academic issue now.

“Answer my question. What will happen if I allow your petition? Will you arrest him again?” Justice Neena Bansal Krishna asked the ED’s counsel.

To this, the counsel said there was no question of arrest and no one has declared his arrest to be illegal.

The judge also said the applications filed in the case were so beautifully drafted that she got confused.

“Is it for bail, illegal custody or compensation? I am confused,” she said, reported PTI.

The Supreme Court granted interim bail to Arvind Kejriwal in the money laundering case in July. However, he is still in jail because of the corruption case lodged by the CBI over the excise policy.

The matter has now been listed for hearing on September 5.

Arvind Kejriwal and AAP are accused of accepting ₹100 crore as kickbacks in return for favours to a group of businessmen in the implementation of the policy.

He has been in jail since March 21. On June 20, he was granted bail by a trial court.

The ED, however, moved the high court the next day and contended that the trial court’s order was “perverse” and “one-sided”.

The court later stayed the bail.

Days later, Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the CBI from ED’s custody.