NEW DELHI:
The Supreme Court began hearing Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the excise policy linked-money laundering case. The top court will also deliberate over the possibility of granting interim bail to the AAP chief.
Notably, Kejriwal’s judicial custody also ends on Tuesday. A top court bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipanka Datta is hearing the Delhi CM’s plea.
Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for anti-corruption agency, told the court that 176 phones have been destroyed and cash has been sent to Hawala operators.
‘WON’T LET YOU PERFORM CM DUTIES IF WE GRANT INTERIM BAIL’: SC
“Suppose we release you and you are allowed to participate in elections, you will be performing official duties, it can have cascading efforts,” the top court told Kejriwal’s counsel.
“If we grant you interim bail, we are clear that we won’t let you perform your duties as Chief Minister,” the SC bench said.
The top court told Singhvi that it thought of releasing Kejriwal on interim bail on the elections issue, “else there wouldn’t have been a question”.
‘RS 100 CRORE CASH TRANSFERRED BY HAWALA ROUTES’: ED TELLS SC
“Cash transactions for Rs 100 crores were transferred by hawala routes and spent in other states,” ASG Raju said.
Justice Khanna said Rs 100 crore was “proceeds of crime”, asking how it became Rs 1,100 crores in two or three years. “That will be a phenomenal rate of return!” Justice Khanna said.
ASG Raju specified that the wholesaler profit is Rs 590 crore. The top court responded saying that the difference was of about Rs 338 crores, adding that the entire amount “cannot be proceeds of crime”.
“The time when we began investigation, it was not directed towards him (Kejriwal), in later stages, when we got evidence, then only the probe shifted in that direction,” ASG Raju told the SC.
The federal agency’s representative presented statements of several approvers before the top court.
The apex court bench asked the ED to produce case files before. “The first two volumes…we want to see officer notings one before Sarath Reddy’s arrest and one till his statement under CrPC Section 164. And one before Manish Sisodia was arrested and the one after,” Justice Khanna said.
The top court bench told the anti-corruption agency that it needs to see “what happened to the investigation from one stage to the other”. “The issue before us is very limited and it is compliance of Section 19, we need to see what is the nature of enquiry,” it said.
ASG Raju, clarifying the agency’s stance, said, “It is not as if the case is politically motivated, ED is not concerned with politics.”
ASG Raju said that there is proof of Kejriwal staying at a 7-star hotel in Goa during election, adding that the bill was accounted for by Charanpreet Singh of Chariot Enterprises. Notably, Singh has also been arrested.
The top court asked the ED on why it took so much time for the investigation. ASG Raju responded saying, “It’s prerogative of the investigation agency.”
“If I start asking about Kejriwal at the outset, it would have been called malafide. It takes time to understand. we can’t put it overnight. Things have to be confirmed,” ASG Raju said.
The ASG specified that Kejriwal’s name was first mentioned in Buchibabu’s statement in February, 2023.
Raju told the top court that an impression is being created that C Arvind — former PS to Manish Sisodia — named Kejriwal. He had just said that a meeting took place in the Delhi CM’s presence, Raju added.
Justice Khanna responded saying, “Let me put it this way, in this case, you have to be front-footed, because you are the one who has passed under Section 19.”
“Your defense is non-reference to this earlier statement which is of no consequence in my grounds to believe because, those statements are not relevant so far as petitioner is concerned,” Justice Khanna said.
