NEW DELHI: Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi informed the Delhi High Court on Wednesday that the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal by the ED during elections violates the basic structure.
“A sitting CM was arrested on the cusp of elections when the Model Code of Conduct is in place. If you do anything to make a level playing field uneven you are impinging on the basic structure of the Constitution.The heart of democracy is level playing field. It means free and fair elections. This arrest is impinging on the level playing field.” he said.
Singhvi, while pressing the Delhi High Court to promptly order the release of Chief Minister Kejriwal, emphasized that Kejriwal’s arrest by the ED was unnecessary and seemed aimed at politically incapacitating both him and the AAP. He said that there were significant issues surrounding Kejriwal’s arrest that warranted immediate resolution.
“There was no necessity to arrest Kejriwal. His arrest by the ED aimed at politically disabling him and the AAP.” He also said that there were ‘glaring issues’ in Kejriwal’s arrest and that they required an immediate decision.” he added further
Singhvi also criticized what he perceived as the overuse of the term ‘non-cooperation’ by the ED, implying that it was often used unjustly.
Furthermore, he argued that the ED’s request for additional time to respond to Kejriwal’s challenge to his arrest was merely a tactic to prolong the proceedings.
In a separate development, the Enforcement Directorate had requested the Delhi High Court for an extension to file a response to Kejriwal’s plea contesting his arrest.
“A sitting CM was arrested on the cusp of elections when the Model Code of Conduct is in place. If you do anything to make a level playing field uneven you are impinging on the basic structure of the Constitution.The heart of democracy is level playing field. It means free and fair elections. This arrest is impinging on the level playing field.” he said.
Singhvi, while pressing the Delhi High Court to promptly order the release of Chief Minister Kejriwal, emphasized that Kejriwal’s arrest by the ED was unnecessary and seemed aimed at politically incapacitating both him and the AAP. He said that there were significant issues surrounding Kejriwal’s arrest that warranted immediate resolution.
“There was no necessity to arrest Kejriwal. His arrest by the ED aimed at politically disabling him and the AAP.” He also said that there were ‘glaring issues’ in Kejriwal’s arrest and that they required an immediate decision.” he added further
Singhvi also criticized what he perceived as the overuse of the term ‘non-cooperation’ by the ED, implying that it was often used unjustly.
Furthermore, he argued that the ED’s request for additional time to respond to Kejriwal’s challenge to his arrest was merely a tactic to prolong the proceedings.
In a separate development, the Enforcement Directorate had requested the Delhi High Court for an extension to file a response to Kejriwal’s plea contesting his arrest.