New Delhi:

Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha has hit back at the argument given by Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the central agency CBI, during the court hearing on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest in the alleged excise policy scam. Questioning Mr Kejriwal’s petition, Mr Raju said in the Supreme Court if the top Court grants bail to AAP chief, it will demoralise the Delhi High Court. Countering his argument, Raghav Chadha said if the Sun rises from the east, it will be demoralise the West.

If Sun rises from the East, it will demoralise the West. https://t.co/2rIaXAKE57

— Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) September 5, 2024

The top court on Thursday reserved its order on Mr Kejriwal’s separate pleas seeking bail and challenging his arrest by the CBI in the alleged excise policy scam. He has filed two separate petitions challenging the denial of bail and against his arrest by the CBI in the the corruption case filed by the central agency.

Questioning the maintainability of Mr Kejriwal’s pleas, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju said that the AAP chief went to the Delhi High Court without going to the sessions court. He also said that even in the money laundering case in which Arvind Kejriwal had challenged his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), he was sent back by the Supreme court to the trial court.

“He approached the High court without going to the sessions court. This is my preliminary objection. On merits, trial court could have seen it first. The high court was made to see merits and it can only be in exceptional cases. In ordinary cases, sessions court has to be approached first.

“He seems to be an extraordinary person who requires different approach. When all other Aam Aaadmis (common people) go to the trial court for bail, there cannot be a special treatment for anyone,” Mr Raju told a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan, reported news agency PTI.

If Supreme Court grants bail to Arvind Kejriwal, it will demoralise the Delhi High Court, Mr Raju said. “Don’t say that. Whatever order we pass, we will ensure nothing like that happens,” the bench assured Mr Raju.

The top court has earlier granted interim bail to the Mr Kejriwal in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case against him, but he remains in jail in the CBI case. This means that if the Supreme Court gives him the relief, the Delhi Chief Minister will walk out of prison after over five months.

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“Insurance Arrest By CBI”

Arvind Kejriwal told the court that the central agency did an “insurance arrest” after they realised that he could get bail in the ED case.

Arguing for AAP supremo, Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi said this is an unprecedented matter. The Delhi Chief Minister, he said, has got relief twice under the stringent Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The CBI, he said, had done as “insurance arrest”.

The CBI, he said, had arrested Mr Kejriwal after two years. “Three court orders are in my favour. This is an insurance arrest, so that he can be kept in jail,” Mr Singhvi said.

Seeking bail for the embattled AAP national convener, Mr Singhvi said every possible co-accused in the case has been released on bail, including Manish Sisodia, K Kavitha and Vijay Nayar.

Mr Raju replied that the co-accused who got bail from the top court had approached the trial court first which Kejriwal did not do.

Manish Sisodia, a former deputy chief minister who held the excise portfolio when the alleged scam took place, was granted bail on August 9 by the top court which also extended the same relief to K Kavitha on August 27.

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