The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to act against the statements made by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal that if votes were given to the Aam Aadmi Party, he would not have to go back to jail.
A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta was hearing Kejriwal’s petition challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the alleged Delhi liquor policy case.
During the hearing, Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, appearing for the ED, brought the attention of the bench to the statement of Kejriwal.
“He says if you vote for broom (AAP election symbol), I won’t have to go to jail on June 2. How can he say this?” the SG questioned, according to LiveLaw.
Terming Kejriwal’s statement as a “slap on the system,” he pleaded the court to “treat him as any other person”.
Justice Khanna, however, did not entertain matter.
“Our order was very clear. We specifically said we are not making exception to anybody. We will not go into this,” he said.
On senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi’s indirect reference to Union Minister Amit Shah’s comment that the Supreme Court’s order was not routine and that many felt that a special treatment was given in connection with Kejriwal’s interim bail, Justice Khanna said that “critical analysis of the verdict” was welcome.
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