The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order in the petitions filed by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking bail and quashing of arrest in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case linked to the Excise policy scam.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan heard arguments put forward by Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, representing the CBI, and senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal.
Kejriwal told the Supreme Court that the CBI did not arrest him for nearly two years in the alleged Excise policy scam after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) first registered the case in August 2022, and an ‘insurance arrest’ was made on June 25 after he got bail in the “harsher” money laundering case filed by the ED.
Singhvi said that no notice was served to Kejriwal by the CBI before arrest and an ex-parte arrest order passed by the trial court. “During the two-year period, the only significant development is a statement from co-accused Magunta Reddy made in January,” the senior counsel said.
Singhvi further said that the only justification given by the CBI for the arrest is Kejriwal’s alleged non-cooperation. “There are Supreme Court judgements affirming that a person is not required to self-incriminate,” he added. He submitted that the Delhi CM was a constitutional functionary and not a flight risk.
“The concern about his appearance for questioning is moot. Furthermore, given the vast number of documents and electronic evidence already submitted, there is no possibility of tampering,” he added.
The senior lawyer said the top court, while granting interim bail in the money laundering case, had said the Chief Minister was not a threat to society. “What started in August, 2023 has led to arrest in March this year in the money laundering case,” he said, adding the top court and a trial court have already granted him bail.
Singhvi questioned the necessity of arresting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo, noting that he was already in custody at the time of the CBI’s arrest. He described Kejriwal as the “most captive interrogatee”, emphasising that there was no risk of evidence tampering while he was in custody.
“There was no danger of him tampering with evidence as he was in custody. He was not loitering about, requiring the CBI to arrest him”, he added.
He also highlighted that most other co-accused such as former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, BRS leader K. Kavitha, and former AAP communication in-charge Vijay Nair have already been granted bail by the top court. The top court had on August 23 allowed the CBI to file its counter affidavit in the matter and gave two days to Kejriwal to file a rejoinder.
Kejriwal has filed two separate petitions challenging the denial of bail and against his arrest by the CBI in the case. He has challenged the August 5 order of the Delhi High Court upholding his arrest. On August 14, the top court refused to grant interim bail to Kejriwal in the case and sought a response from the probe agency on his plea challenging his arrest.
The Delhi High Court had on August 5 upheld the arrest of the Chief Minister as legal and said there was no malice in the acts done by the CBI which was able to demonstrate how the AAP supremo could influence witnesses, who could muster the courage to depose only after his arrest.
Hema Committee report: Kerala High Court forms Special Bench with woman judge to hear petitions
The Kerala High Court on Thursday constituted a Special Bench consisting of Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice C.S. Sudha for hearing public interest litigations (PIL) filed following the publication of the Hema Committee report on the issues faced by women working in the Malayalam film industry.
Meanwhile, the Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque and Justice S. Manu has referred to the Special Bench an appeal filed by Sajimon Parayil, a producer, against a single judge’s order upholding the State Information Commission’s (SIC) directive to release the Hema Committee report with redactions.
The Bench had earlier directed the Kerala government to produce the entire report of the Hema Committee before the court when a public interest litigation came up seeking a directive to the State government to initiate criminal proceedings against those who had committed sexual exploitation and harassment of women in the film industry as found by the Hema Committee.
The Bench had then observed that if any cognizable offence is disclosed in the report, whether a criminal action is necessary or not is to be decided by the court.
The court had said the State government is, as of now, is unable to proceed in this matter for the simple reason that no one has come forward with a complaint. But the fact remains that if the report discloses sexual exploitation and harassment of women, how to protect these vulnerable women and what action can be taken against the perpetrators is something that the court needs to address, the Bench had added.
Another public interest petition seeking a CBI probe into the revelations of sexual harassment reportedly made in the Hema Committee report is also pending before the court. The petition filed by Jannath and another person sought a directive to the State government to enact a law for the protection of women in cinema based on the recommendations of the Hema Committee report.
The petition alleged that the government is reluctant to register crimes based on the revelations in the report. It also pointed out that the perpetrators of sexual harassment and sexual assaults are people with high political influence and, therefore, it created an apprehension in the minds of the people that such persons may be unfairly protected and that an impartial investigation will not be conducted by the police.
The petitioner alleged that the government had “miserably failed to present the report before the Assembly, casting doubt on the State’s real intentions” on the safety of women actors.
Congress demands independent probe into allegations against SEBI chief Madhabi Buch
Amid the row over allegations against SEBI chairperson Madhabi Buch, the Congress on Thursday demanded an independent inquiry into the matter, asserting that it is in the national interest to have a probe as foreign investors were getting concerned and there were doubts about the integrity of India’s stock markets.
The Opposition party said only an objective, independent inquiry with the SEBI Chairperson Buch stepping aside was needed until then can restore trust and confidence in India’s stock markets and hence the economy.
Chairman of Professionals’ Congress and Data Analytics Praveen Chakravarty claimed that lots of skeletons are tumbling out of the cupboard of SEBI, which is one of the nation’s most important institutions.
“On 10 August, a foreign research firm issued a report with allegations against the SEBI chairperson and her family regarding offshore funds, for which they claimed to have documentary evidence. This allegation was made by a research firm, not by any political party. In response, a cabinet minister of the Modi government addressed the issue,” he said at a press conference at the AICC headquarters.
Why did they respond to the allegation made by a foreign research firm against an individual at SEBI, Chakravarty asked.
“SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch is not responding, but ICICI is. Why?” he said.
Chakravarty also pointed out that 500 SEBI officers have written a letter to the Government of India alleging that the work environment under Buch’s leadership is “toxic, abusive and fearful”.
“Today, a news report says that Ms. Madhabi Puri Buch did have two employments when she was at ICICI. She was also employed in a private equity fund called Greater Specific Capital... Ms. Buch may have been recruited as a finance professional, but this raises a long list of allegations and questions. Doesn’t it raise more concern?” he said.
Why is there hesitation in conducting an impartial and objective inquiry, the Congress leader asked. “As a former financial professional myself, I have received several calls from foreign investors asking, ‘What is the status of the market regulator? Can we trust India’s securities market? What is happening with the integrity of the market regulator?’” he said.
Chakravarty asserted that the Congress wants a very strong, robust stock market in the country. “We want foreign capital in our stock market. This is too important for the country; it is a national issue. The real question is: Who is being protected here? Why is the ED silent on Madhabi Puri Buch?” he said.
“This is a national issue. If foreign investors are getting concerned and there are doubts about the integrity of India’s stock markets because of a series of allegations against the chairperson of the market regulator, is it not in the national interest to conduct an inquiry to get to the root of this matter and resolve it,” Chakravarty said.
He said several people are coming out with information and journalists are carrying out investigations to bring out the truth. He also highlighted the portal https://indiawhistleblower.com where information can be posted anonymously. The Congress also shared information about it on its X handle.
Michel Barnier, EU’s former Brexit negotiator, named by Macron to be France’s new PM
President Emmanuel Macron named EU former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as France’s new Prime Minister on Thursday after more than 50 days of caretaker government.
The appointment of the 73-year-old Barnier follows weeks of intense efforts by Macron and his aides to find a candidate who might be able to build loose groupings of backers in parliament and survive possible attempts by Macron’s opponents to quickly topple the new government that Barnier will now put together and lead.
A statement from Macron’s office announcing Barnier’s appointment said he’d been tasked “with forming a unifying government to serve the country and the French people.”
“This appointment comes after an unprecedented cycle of consultations during which, in accordance with his constitutional duty, the President ensured that the Prime Minister and the future government would meet the conditions to be as stable as possible and give themselves the chances of uniting as broadly as possible,” the statement said.
Barnier, a career politician proud of his humble roots in France’s Alpine region of Haute-Savoie, is no stranger to complex and difficult tasks: He was the European Union’s chief negotiator in the difficult talks with Britain over its Brexit departure from the bloc.
Barnier replaces Gabriel Attal, who resigned on July 16 following quick-fire legislative elections that produced a divided and hung parliament, plunging France into political turmoil. But Macron kept Attal and his ministers on in a caretaker capacity, handling
day-to-day affairs, so political instability wouldn’t overshadow the July 26-Aug. 11 Paris Olympics, when France was in the global spotlight.
In a political career over more than 50 years, Barnier has served as French foreign, European affairs, environment and agriculture minister — and twice as a European commissioner.
Influential far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon immediately came out against Barnier’s appointment and predicted the new Prime Minister would not get a majority backing in the bitterly divided National Assembly.
Melenchon said the appointment flew in the face of the July 7 legislative election results that left parliament’s lower house split between three main blocs — the left, including Melenchon’s party; the center where Macron has based his support, and the far right, converging around anti-immigration leader Marine Le Pen.
“The election has been stolen,” Melenchon asserted.
In Brief:
Coaching centre deaths: Delhi High Court seeks CBI stand on basement owners’ bail pleas
The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought the stand of the CBI on the bail pleas of jailed co-owners of the Old Rajinder Nagar coaching centre basement, where three civil services aspirants died after drowning in July. Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma issued notice to the agency on the bail applications of the co-owners of the basement — Parvinder Singh, Tajinder Singh, Harvinder Singh and Sarbjit Singh — and asked it to file its reply. “The incident was very unfortunate,” said Justice Sharma, while adding that the present matter “should not be an ordinary case”. The court asked the CBI counsel to “give concrete evidence” with respect to the accountability of the basement co-owners and also permitted the father of one of the deceased aspirants to file a “short reply” to the bail pleas.
Haryana polls: Denied ticket, BJP MLA Lakshman Napa quits party
Denied ticket for the Haryana Assembly polls, ruling BJP legislator from Ratia reserve Assembly Constituency Lakshman Dass Napa has quit the party. Napa, in a letter to State Party chief Mohan Lal Badoli, shortly after the BJP put out the first list of 67 candidates for the polls, said he was quitting the party and resigning from its primary membership. From Ratia, the party has fielded former Sirsa MP Sunita Duggal. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Duggal had been denied re-nomination from the Sirsa Parliamentary Constituency after former Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar, who had joined the BJP ahead of the LS polls, was given the ticket. Tanwar, however, lost to Congress veteran Kumari Selja.
Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.
Published - September 05, 2024 09:42 pm IST
