Arvind Kejriwal Takes Back Petition Against Arrest from Supreme Court

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday told the Supreme Court that he is withdrawing his plea challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate.

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's counsel on Friday said in the Supreme Court that he is withdrawing the petition challenging arrest by Enforcement Directorate in Delhi excise policy scam.

Senior advocate A M Singhvi and advocate Shadan Farasat, representing Kejriwal, submitted before a bench led by Justice Khanna that their client is withdrawing the petition in the Supreme Court as it is clashing with the remand. Singhvi submitted that his client has decided to withdraw it and fight that remand and then come back to your lordships. He added that otherwise, there will be arguments of remand “and then high court and then….”.

Justice Khanna said you may go there, need not be present here. Singhvi said that he will give a letter to the registry, and added he mentioned it so that it is convenient for the court. Farasat told ETV Bharat that they will argue at the remand stage before trial court today.

Earlier on Friday, The Supreme Court agreed to hear Kejriwal's plea against his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in an excise policy-linked money laundering case.

Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, mentioned the matter for urgent listing before a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud. Justice Chandrachud said a special three-judge bench is convening in Justice Sanjiv Khanna's court, and Singhvi can mention the matter before that bench.

Singhvi then rushed to Justice Khanna's court but the special three-judge bench also comprising Justices MM Sundresh and Bela M Trivedi, which had assembled to hear BRS leader K Kavitha's plea challenging her arrest in the Delhi excise policy scam case and the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), was over by that time.

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna told Singhvi that a three-judge bench will assemble to hear Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s case.

A 12-member team of ED arrested Arvind Kejriwal at his residence in North Delhi’s Civil Lines. The ED reached The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief's residence, shortly after the High Court refused to grant him protection from coercive action in an excise policy-linked money laundering case.

Kejriwal had earlier skipped multiple summonses of the agency in the case.

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