Supreme Court questions timing of Kejriwal's arrest, seeks ED’s reply

The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned the timing of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest before the Lok Sabha elections and sought a reply from the probe agency.

The top court told the ED to explain whether the agency can take up criminal proceedings without having gone through judicial proceedings in the case.

Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 in a money laundering case and had been in ED custody till April 1 when a city court remanded him to judicial custody. He is currently lodged in the Tihar jail.

Kejriwal moved the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court refused to grant him relief from the arrest. The matter is likely to be taken up for further hearing on Friday

On Monday, the apex court questioned the non-appearance of Kejriwal before the ED despite repeated summonses for recording of statements, and asked if he can challenge the arrest in a money laundering case related to the excise policy scam on the ground of non-recording of his version.

The court also asked why the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader did not move a bail application before the trial court.