New Delhi: The Delhi High Court will on Monday hear Chief Minister Arvin Kejriwal's plea challenging the summons issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the investigation into a money laundering case related to the excise policy.
Kejriwal, arrested by the agency on March 21 after the high court refused to grant him interim protection from penal action, has also challenged the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act regarding arrest, interrogation and grant of bail.
The petition is scheduled for hearing before a bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kai and Justice Manoj Jain.
The AAP national convenor had approached the high court in the wake of the ninth summons issued by the ED, asking him to appear before it on March 21. The high court bench had on March 20 asked the ED to file its reply regarding the maintainability of the case.Petition.
The next day, it also asked the ED to respond to the plea seeking protection from arrest of Kejriwal, saying "at this stage" it was not willing to grant any interim relief. Kejriwal was arrested by the ED the same evening and is currently in judicial custody.
The federal probe agency has alleged that the accused were in touch with Kejriwal to formulate the now defunct excise duty policy, which resulted in undue benefits to AAP in exchange for bribes.
Kejriwal has raised several issues in the petition, including whether a political party comes under the anti-money laundering law. It alleged that the arbitrary process under the PMLA was being used to create an un-level playing field for the general elections so as to "tilt the electoral process in favor of the party ruling at the Centre".Describing the petitioner as a "vocal critic" of the ruling party, the plea claimed that the ED has been "weaponized" as it is under the control of the UNIO government.
Kejriwal, arrested by the agency on March 21 after the high court refused to grant him interim protection from penal action, has also challenged the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act regarding arrest, interrogation and grant of bail.
The petition is scheduled for hearing before a bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kai and Justice Manoj Jain.
The AAP national convenor had approached the high court in the wake of the ninth summons issued by the ED, asking him to appear before it on March 21. The high court bench had on March 20 asked the ED to file its reply regarding the maintainability of the case.Petition.
The next day, it also asked the ED to respond to the plea seeking protection from arrest of Kejriwal, saying "at this stage" it was not willing to grant any interim relief. Kejriwal was arrested by the ED the same evening and is currently in judicial custody.
The federal probe agency has alleged that the accused were in touch with Kejriwal to formulate the now defunct excise duty policy, which resulted in undue benefits to AAP in exchange for bribes.
Kejriwal has raised several issues in the petition, including whether a political party comes under the anti-money laundering law. It alleged that the arbitrary process under the PMLA was being used to create an un-level playing field for the general elections so as to "tilt the electoral process in favor of the party ruling at the Centre".Describing the petitioner as a "vocal critic" of the ruling party, the plea claimed that the ED has been "weaponized" as it is under the control of the UNIO government.
