Arvind Kejriwal Arrest: ED on Thursday arrested Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in connection with the alleged liquor scam in Delhi. After this, Delhi government minister Atishi said that if necessary, Kejriwal will run the government from jail. Will Kejriwal be able to run the government from jail in such a situation? And will he have to resign now after being arrested? Know in detail
Arvind Kejriwal Arrest
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been arrested overnight. The ED arrested him after two hours of interrogation on Thursday. Chief Minister Kejriwal has been arrested in a money laundering case related to the alleged liquor scam in Delhi.
VIDEO | Here’s what Delhi Minister Atishi (@AtishiAAP) said outside Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s residence after an ED team reached there.
“This is very clearly a conspiracy. In two years, ED and CBI have not been able to find even Rs 1 of proceeds of crime. The Delhi High Court… pic.twitter.com/StRkIdl4Jk
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 21, 2024
Arvind Kejriwal is the first Chief Minister to be arrested while in office. Before him, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was also arrested in the same year, but he resigned before his arrest. After the arrest of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, you have attacked the BJP.
The Aam Aadmi Party has attacked Chief Minister Kejriwal’s arrest as a ‘political conspiracy’. All the opposition parties have also called it wrong. Opposition parties have supported Kejriwal showing unity.
However, Minister Atishi in the Delhi government has said that Arvind Kejriwal was, is and will remain the Chief Minister of Delhi.
Atishi added, ‘We have already said that Kejriwal will run the government from Delhi if needed. They can run the government from jail and no rule can prevent them from doing so. He has not been convicted, so he will remain the Chief Minister of Delhi.
Earlier, when the ED had issued its first summons to Kejriwal in November last year, Aam Aadmi Party leaders had also expressed fear of his arrest. Even then, party leaders had said that Kejriwal would run the government from jail.
Can Arvind Kejriwal run the government from jail?
Running the government from jail seems a bit illogical, but there is no law or regulation that can stop the Chief Minister from doing so. However, it is difficult for Kejriwal to run the government from jail. Whenever an inmate comes, he has to follow the jail manual. Inside the prison, every prisoner loses all privileges, even if he is an undertrial prisoner. However, fundamental rights remain.
Every work done in the jail is done in a disciplined manner. According to the prison manual, every inmate in the prison is allowed to visit his relatives or friends twice a week. The time of each meeting is fixed for half an hour.
So, a jailed leader can contest elections and participate in the proceedings of the House, but cannot hold any kind of meeting there. When the ED arrested Hemant Soren in January, the PMLA court had allowed him to participate in the trust vote.
Besides, as long as the prisoner is in jail, many of his activities depend on court orders. A prisoner can sign any legal document through his lawyer. But the court’s permission will be required to sign any government document.
Will Kejriwal resign?
Arvind Kejriwal is not yet bound to resign as Chief Minister. If he resigns of his own free will, then someone else can become the new Chief Minister.
The Representation of the People Act, 1951, nowhere mentions that any Chief Minister, Minister, MP or MLA will have to resign if he goes to jail.
According to the law, a chief minister can be disqualified only if he is found guilty in a case. Kejriwal has not been convicted in this case yet.
If Arvind Kejriwal does not resign, it is feared that some problems will arise in Delhi. Because his stay in jail may hamper government work.
Even if Kejriwal resigns, he will remain an MLA. Because under the Representation of the People Act, an MLA or MP can be disqualified only if he has been sentenced to two years or more in a criminal case.
However, Aam Aadmi Party leaders including Delhi Assembly Speaker Ramnivas Goyal say that Kejriwal will not resign.
Can Kejriwal be removed as Chief Minister?
There is still no possibility of Arvind Kejriwal being removed from the post of Chief Minister. A no-confidence motion must be brought in the House to remove the Chief Minister from office.
But when the government seems to have lost its majority, a no-confidence motion is also brought. But, Aam Aadmi Party has 62 out of 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly.
However, if Kejriwal moves a no-confidence motion in the House against the government, he will definitely have to step down. However, political experts say that its chances are very low. In such a situation, Kejriwal himself cannot be removed from the post of Chief Minister unless he wishes.
Why was Kejriwal arrested?
The ED is investigating money laundering in the alleged scam in the Delhi government’s Excise Policy 2021-22. It is also known as liquor scam.
In July 2022, the then Chief Secretary of Delhi submitted a report to LG VK Saxena. In this, irregularities were alleged in the excise policy. First CBI and then ED registered a case in this case.
The then Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia was arrested on February 26 last year in this alleged liquor scam. Then on October 4, Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh was also arrested.
ED sent the first summons to Kejriwal on November 2 last year. Since then, ED has sent 10 summons to Kejriwal. Despite sending so many summons, they did not appear before EDA.
Meanwhile, yesterday (Thursday) the Delhi High Court rejected Arvind Kejriwal’s plea seeking protection from arrest. ED officials reached Kejriwal’s residence around 7 pm yesterday (Thursday). He interrogated Kejriwal after which he was arrested.
Can the Chief Minister be arrested because of this?
Under Article 361 of the Constitution, the President or the Governor cannot be arrested or detained while in office. No court can order against him.
But there is no such exemption for Prime Minister, Chief Minister, Minister, MP or MLA. According to Section 135 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the Prime Minister, Union Ministers, Members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Chief Ministers, Members of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council are exempt from arrest only in civil cases. Not in criminal cases.
The ED is investigating money laundering in the alleged liquor scam and it is a criminal case. Because of this, Chief Minister Kejriwal has been arrested.
Now what next?
Hours before Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest, his lawyer had reached the Supreme Court. He has challenged the arrest.
Kejriwal’s lawyers had requested the Supreme Court registrar to hold the hearing on Thursday night itself. However, this could not happen.
Today (Friday), Kejriwal’s lawyer will present the case before the Supreme Court. Only then will it be clear whether the Supreme Court will hear it or not. If the Supreme Court hears and gets relief for Kejriwal, he may be released. But if the court’s decision goes against them, they will have to remain in jail. It will also be important to see what decision the Supreme Court will take today.
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