Delhi HC grants ED time to file response in former CM Kejriwal’s plea challenging absence of sanction to prosecute

Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, appearing connected behalf of ED virtually earlier the tribunal connected Thursday, submitted astatine the outset, “It is my lawsuit that there’s a sanction, I request to enactment it connected grounds by mode of an affidavit… there’s a sanction, I’ll record with my affidavit.”

However, elder advocates N Hariharan and Rebecca John connected behalf of Kejriwal, pointed retired earlier the tribunal that portion determination is authorisation to prosecute successful the CBI proceedings against Kejriwal successful narration to the alleged excise scam, they were not alert of immoderate specified authorisation successful the ED case.

Addressing SG Mehta and the court, Hariharan said, “Because it (prosecution sanction) was not supplied to us, if there’s an ED sanction… Issue is that, erstwhile chargesheet (the seventh supplementary prosecution ailment filed by the ED which names Kejriwal arsenic an accused) was filed oregon otherwise, determination was nary authorisation nether CrPC Section 197. Subsequently lone panchnama was filed.”

Hariharan and John added that isolated from the lack of prosecution authorisation portion taking cognisance of the complaint, Kejriwal’s plea is besides challenging 2 different aspects: “One is, this peculiar chargesheet is the 7th prosecution complaint. There’s thing afresh which has been investigated, it is the aforesaid prosecution ailment arsenic the 6th prosecution complaint, including witnesses.”

SG Mehta, however, rebutted, saying, “This is factually incorrect, further probe was taken up and this aforesaid statement has been rejected by proceedings court.” Kejriwal’s counsels contended that the proceedings tribunal “never went” into this aspect.

Meanwhile, Kejriwal’s counsels besides pressed the tribunal for a enactment connected the proceedings tribunal proceedings successful the interim, which the tribunal declined. The tribunal besides refused to assistance Kejriwal’s oral petition to assistance exemption from idiosyncratic quality earlier the proceedings tribunal connected the adjacent day of proceeding and alternatively suggested that Kejriwal question alleviation earlier the proceedings tribunal itself.

Kejriwal, successful his petition, has submitted that the 7th supplementary prosecution ailment dated May 17 this twelvemonth which named him arsenic an accused, has been filed without adducing immoderate further worldly connected record.

It has besides been pointed retired that the “majority of the worldly relied upon” successful the supplementary chargesheet of ED against Kejriwal “was already disposable portion filing the erstwhile prosecution ailment and (prior) supplementary chargesheets” and frankincense the aforesaid worldly could not person been the ground to record the chargesheet against Kejriwal.

Relying connected a 2024 SC verdict, Kejriwal has contended successful his petition that summoning of an accused “without immoderate fresh/additional grounds successful the supplementary chargesheet… is thing but a reappraisal of the archetypal bid of summoning and arsenic specified maltreatment of the process of Court.”

Kejriwal is seeking the quashing of the proceedings court’s bid from July 9 this twelvemonth wherever it had taken cognisance of the 7th supplementary chargesheet.