Delhi HC denies interim relief to Arvind Kejriwal, next hearing on April 3
- In Reports
- 10:48 PM, Mar 27, 2024
- Myind Staff
On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court refused to grant interim relief to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was arrested last week in connection with a liquor policy case. The court stated that decisions couldn't be made without first hearing the arguments of the Enforcement Directorate.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma observed that any release order will amount to enlarging Kejriwal on bail or interim bail, as an interim measure. “The writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is not a ready substitute for recourse to the remedy of bail under Section 439 of the Cr.P.C. ordinarily,” the court was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The bench of Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma said the ED has to be granted an opportunity to file a reply as an opportunity for effective representation, and declining this opportunity would amount to the denial of a fair hearing as well as a violation of one of the principles of natural justice.
"Thus, the reply by the Directorate of Enforcement is essential and crucial to decide the present case, and therefore, the contention of the learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner that no reply is required to be filed on behalf of the respondent is rejected."
The high court also emphasised that it cannot assume that the central probe agency will have no response to submit and will solely rely on the arguments presented before the trial court.
The court has asked the Enforcement Directorate to file a reply by April 2. The next hearing on the matter will be on April 3.
Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21. He was produced before a court, which sent him to ED custody till March 28.
Image source: ANI
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