The Enforcement Directorate filed a note in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, stating that when it began investigations into the alleged Delhi Liquor Policy Scam, it did not target Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal directly, but his role came up during the inquiry. That is why, at first, no questions were asked of him or the accused. In the previous hearing, the court requested the ED to explain why Kejriwal was arrested so close to the Lok Sabha election.
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi told the Supreme Court that the ED was concealing and suppressing statements made by approvers in support of Kejriwal while selectively showing statements against him.
ED further stated that at this point, it is up to the investigating officer to determine which statements are correct and which are not. “In fact, there are no inconsistencies in assertions. “They cannot be assumed to be in favour of the petitioner.” ED told the Supreme Court.
However, Justice Khanna questioned why the ED did not begin probing his role immediately after the CBI filed its initial case in August 2023. The ED stated that they had no justification at the time because they needed to investigate where the money went and construct their investigation.
The Supreme Court will hear Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s petition challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Delhi Liquor Policy Case on Tuesday.
The bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta stated at the last hearing that because the arguments in the case are expected to last, the top court may consider interim bail in light of the forthcoming elections on May 25. However, the court indicated that they will hear separate arguments over temporary bail.
