In a significant turn of events, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed the Supreme Court today that they have uncovered personal chats between Arvind Kejriwal and hawala operators.
“We have just apprehended the hawala operator. While Kejriwal had destroyed many phones, recoveries have now been made from the hawala operators,” stated Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to a bench consisting of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta.
This disclosure occurred when Justice Khanna requested the ED to provide all the material they relied upon following their ruling in the Manish Sisodia case.
“We have now found personal chats between Arvind Kejriwal and the hawala operator,” Additional Solicitor General SV Raju informed the bench.
Senior Advocate AM Singhvi contested the ED’s presentation, arguing, “This is unfair. This information is being disclosed now at 4:30 PM; this constitutes suppression of evidence.”
The ED claims that Kejriwal demanded ₹100 crores during the Goa elections, which was subsequently funnelled through hawala transactions.
On May 10, the Supreme Court of India granted interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, permitting him to campaign for the Aam Aadmi Party in the 2024 General Elections.
Yesterday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed the court that after being released on interim bail, Kejriwal made public statements that they described as a “slap on the system.”
During the hearing of Kejriwal’s plea against the ED arrest, the division bench was informed, “The court instructed him not to discuss his role in the case. He is saying, ‘They say I have to go back to jail in 20 days. If you vote for the broom, then I will not have to go to jail…’”
In response, Justice Sanjiv Khanna clarified, “That is his assumption. He will have to surrender. Our order is very clear. We have fixed the timeline for when he must surrender. We are not making exceptions for anyone. What we deemed correct, we have ordered. Let’s stick to the legal issues.”
The interim order specifically stated, “He will not interact with any witnesses or have access to any official files related to the case.”
The granting of interim relief to the Delhi CM faced significant opposition from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, who represented the ED in court.
The ED also filed an affidavit arguing that under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, many politicians are currently in judicial custody, and there is no justification for granting special treatment to Kejriwal.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta strongly opposed the interim bail, arguing that it created an impression that it would be disastrous if Kejriwal were not allowed to campaign.