The ED instructed the apex court docket that Arvind Kejriwal was avoiding interrogation by not remaining current earlier than the investigating officer regardless of being summoned 9 instances.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court opposing Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea against his arrest and stated that he didn’t cooperate with the central company regardless of a number of summons issued to him.
The ED instructed the apex court docket that Arvind Kejriwal was avoiding interrogation by not remaining current earlier than the investigating officer regardless of being summoned 9 instances.
“Kejriwal, by his conduct, has, himself, contributed and aided the investigating officer regarding the existence of the necessity to arrest, apart from the material in possession of the IO, to form the satisfaction that he is guilty of the offence of money laundering,” ED said in its affidavit.
The ED stated that the company has been in a position to get better key evidence that immediately reveals the role of Kejriwal in processes and actions regarding the proceeds of crime.
“A total of approximately 170 mobile phones were changed/destroyed by 36 persons (accused and other persons involved) during the period of the scam and when the scam and irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy of 2021-22 became public. In this manner, the crucial digital evidence of the scam and money trail have been actively destroyed by the accused and other persons involved in this scam. Despite such active and criminal destruction of evidence, the agency has been able to recover key evidence that directly reveals the role of the petitioner in the process and activities relating to the proceeds of crime,” the company stated.
It additional added, “The conclusion of the destruction of mobile phones is based on the fact that these mobile phones were not recovered during intensive searches conducted by ED and then on examination of these persons, they were unable to produce them or produced them in a completely or significantly formatted state.”
“For investigation, Kejriwal was asked to provide a password to his mobile phones during the search on March 21, 2024 and then during ED custody, the same was asked again and his reply was recorded in his statement, wherein he refused to share the same. Even his statements during custody would reveal that despite being confronted with materials, the petitioner chose to give completely evasive answers,” the affidavit learn.
ED additional stated that Kejriwal has been “arrested bona fide” and never for any mala fide or extraneous causes.
“It is categorically denied that the arrest was mala fide,” it added.
“The arrest of a person, however high he may be, for the commission of an offence based on material, can never violate the concept of free and fair elections. Treating a politician differently from an ordinary criminal in a matter of arrest would amount to arbitrary and irrational exercise of the power of arrest, which would violate the principle of equality enshrined under Article 14 of the Constitution,” the affidavit of ED said.
The company, in its affidavit, stated that the investigation of this liquor rip-off needs to be seen in the context of large-scale destruction of evidence. Kejriwal had approached the highest court docket difficult his arrest by ED and his subsequent remand in the excise coverage case. The apex court docket had earlier requested the Central Agency to file its response to Kejriwal’s plea.
The Delhi CM had challenged a Delhi High Court judgment that dismissed his plea against arrest by the ED and his subsequent remand in the excise coverage case. Kejriwal, whereas submitting an attraction in the apex court docket, contended that his arrest after the announcement of the final elections was “motivated by extraneous considerations.”
His attraction said that the sitting Chief Minister has been arrested in a “motivated manner” in the center of the election cycle, particularly after the declaration of the schedule for the Lok Sabha election in 2024.
On April 9, the High Court dismissed his plea for launch from jail and rejected his argument of political vendetta amid the looming Lok Sabha elections.
The High Court had stated that Kejriwal’s absence from 9 ED summons over six months undermined any claims of particular privilege as Chief Minister, suggesting his arrest was an inevitable consequence of his non-cooperation.
Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 in reference to a cash laundering probe regarding alleged irregularities in the now-cancelled Delhi excise coverage 2021-22.
(This story has not been edited by DNA workers and is printed from ANI)
