Kejriwal returns to SC after 18 days; has anything changed in his favour?

New Delhi: A day after the Delhi High Court rebuked him, jailed Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday approached Supreme Court against the judgment dismissing his challenge to arrest by the ED in the liquor policy case (Delhi liquor scam).

This is the second time Kejriwal has approached the apex court in the last 18 days since his arrest.

He first came to the Supreme Court with a plea challenging the arrest by the Encorcement Directorare on March 22, a day after his arrest.

However, he withdrew his plea hours after the apex court said the petition would be heard during the day.

It was reported that a special three-judge bench, comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna, MM Sundresh and Bela M Trivedi, was to hear the matter.

Moments earlier, the same bench had rejected the bail plea of BRS leader K Kavitha in the same case.

Sensing the trouble, Kejriwal’s lawyer senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi decided to withdraw the application.

Later, aspersions were cast on Justice Trivedi’s presence in the Bench by Kejriwal’s supporters. 

However, it was said that Kejriwal’s plea will be referred to the same bench in case he returns to the apex court.

In the last 18 days, Kejriwal was twice given ED custody by the special court and then judicial custody.

Moreover, the Delhi High Court dismissed his plea against arrest on Tuesday rejecting each and every ground argued by him.

Immediately after the order was pronounced by the High Court Judge Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed that the Supreme Court would grant relief to Kejriwal just like it granted bail to Sanjay Singh.

For the record, Singh’s bail was a result of a special concession given by the Enforcement Directorate.

As it appears, AAP is claiming victory despite knowing the facts to maintain the morale of its workers.

It will be important to see if the Supreme Court agrees with the High Court’s observations on the evidence presented by the probe agency.