Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by ED after he had skipped nine summons. The arrest was launched right after the Delhi High Court refused to provide interim relief to him against the cohesive actions.
In less than two months, Arvind Kejriwal has become the second opposition chief minister to be arrested by the ED. Prior to him, the ED had detained Hemant Soren, the chief minister of Jharkhand, in January 2024 on suspicion of graft. However, Champai Soren, a party colleague, took Soren’s place as the new chief minister of Jharkhand.
However, Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest raises a big question: Can Kejriwal run his government from behind bars? The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders have insisted that Kejriwal will not step down and will instead govern from behind bars ever since the ED sent him a summons in November.Shortly after Kejriwal’s arrest on Thursday, Delhi government minister Atishi declared that he would not step down as chief minister.
Talking about if Kejriwal can still run the government from behind bars? Here’s the answer, no law supports that a CM can’t run a government when arrested. The law states that a Chief Minister may only be removed from office or disqualified if he is found guilty in any case. Arvind Kejriwal hasn’t been found guilty yet in his case.
As reported by Time Of India, constitutional expert SK Sharma said the law did not specifically require the chief minister of a state to step down and hand over power to someone else in the event of an arrest.
He said, “Former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad Yadav made his wife Rabri Devi the CM of the state when he was arrested. More recently, Hemant Soren in Jharkhand also resigned. Calling cabinet meetings in the jail or review meetings with officials in his cell does not seem practical.”
However, presidential rule could also be possible. Arvind Kejriwal must be released from prison if he wishes to remain Chief Minister. Otherwise, the Lieutenant Governor (L-G), who the Centre picked, can cite the ‘failure of constitutional machinery in the state,’ which may prevail presidential rule over India’s capital territory, as per reports.
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Can Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal run government from jail? Here’s what law says
