New Delhi: Supreme Court Delays Judgment on CM Arvind Kejriwal's Petition Against ED Arrest

GUWAHATI: The Supreme Court has asked the Enforcement Directorate to provide certain files for review, specifically wanting to see statements from witnesses between the time of a previous ruling and Kejriwal’s arrest.

The top court clarified that Kejriwal can still request bail from the trail court, even though the Supreme Court is still reviewing the case.

This is separate from the primary arguments being made. During the hearing, when the Additional Solicitor General mentioned evidence of money being sent to AAP through illegal channels, the court asked if this was specifically mentioned in the written reasons for Kejriwal's arrest.

The ASG argued that giving the accused access to certain materials before arrest could hinder the investigation.

Justice Khanna highlighted a legal point, noting that according to Section 19 of the PMLA, which deals with arrest powers, the investigating officer must have reasons to believe, based on available materials, that the accused is guilty.

However, when it comes to bail, Section 45 of the PMLA requires the court to be convinced, based on initial evidence, that the person is not guilty.

The ASG argued that the standard for the Investigating Officer (IO) to arrest someone is based on "suspicion." However, the bench didn't seem convinced. Justice Datta questioned whether they could change the legal requirement from "reasons to believe" to "reasonably suspects."

The ASG reiterated his argument that the Court can interfere with an arrest only if there is "no material" to support it, and that the adequacy of the materials cannot be scrutinized during the investigation stage.

Additionally, the ASG clarified that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was filing a prosecution complaint today, formally making the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) an accused in the case.

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