ED relies on media reports as per convenience; remarks against trial judge wrong: Arvind Kejriwal to Delhi High Court

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has filed his response to the plea filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Delhi High Court for cancellation of bail granted to him by the trial court..In a 130-page reply, Kejriwal said that the ED’s insinuations against Special Judge (PC Act) Niyay Bindu, who granted him bail, must be frowned upon.“The language employed by the ED in the grounds urged before this Hon’ble Court insofar as the Ld. Special Judge is concerned, ought to be frowned upon by this Hon’ble Court and strictures deserve to be cast as such kind of remarks and insinuations will not only be detrimental to the cause of justice but would also render our District Judiciary to be demoralized,” he said..The ED had earlier cited Bar & Bench's report to argue that it was not given adequate opportunity by the trial court to oppose the bail plea filed by the Delhi CM. Kejriwal has questioned the reliance on the report, saying that the ED adopts varying and contradictory standards as per its convenience.“That during the hearing on the stay application, ED chose to produce media reporting before this Hon’ble Court (Bar & Bench) regarding the proceedings which had occurred before the Special Court during the hearing of the bail application. Significantly, the ED adopts varying and contradictory standards as per its convenience. In other cases where such proceedings reported in media were brought before the Court, it has been a vehement objection of the ED that the same cannot be relied upon. However, in a holier than thou attitude, the ED chose to produce the media reporting of the proceedings before the Special Judge. However, even the media reports would lay bare the hollowness of the ED’s contention of lack of proper opportunity,” the Court has been told..Further opposing the ED's stand that it was not given enough time to argue its case before the trial court, the reply states,"That the argument of the ED that proper opportunity was not afforded for hearing is liable to be dealt with sternly by this Hon’ble Court. If bail matters are allowed to be continued to be argued for hours and days together, it would not only render the criminal justice system unworkable but also render justice illusory for many under trials and convicts who languish in jail for want of hearing or decision on their bail applications.".It has been argued that no case of money laundering is made out against Kejriwal. Further, the ED’s argument that the trial court did not deal with the twin conditions for grant of bail as per Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), is wrong.The reply stressed that the trial court dealt with all the major submissions made by the ED.“The Special Judge while granting bail has dealt with the aspect of twin conditions elaborately and took into account the long winding submissions from both the sides. First 15 pages of the order were devoted to the contentions of both the sides and reasoning occurring thereafter is well balanced which considers all aspects of the matter as per the wisdom, understanding and appreciation of the Hon’ble Court.” .The ED’s plea against the bail order was listed for hearing today before the High Court. However, the Court adjourned the case to July 15 after the federal agency sought time to reply to Kejriwal’s arguments..Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 on allegations that he was part of a conspiracy to intentionally leave loopholes in the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy for 2021-22, to benefit certain liquor sellers.Kejriwal has denied the allegations and has accused the ED of running an extortion racket.Special Judge (PC Act) Niyay Bindu of the Rouse Avenue Court granted bail to the Delhi CM in the ED case on June 20.The judge said that the ED failed to give any direct evidence linking Kejriwal to the proceeds of the crime and has also failed to show that another accused, Vijay Nair, was acting on Kejriwal's behalf.Judge Bindu had also said that the ED was acting with bias against Kejriwal.The ED had immediately moved the Delhi High Court, which on June 25, stayed the trial court order. This meant that Kejriwal has continued to remain in jail till date.