Delhi HC to hear tomorrow, PIL seeking removal of Arvind Kejriwal from CM post

The Delhi High Court will hear a public interest litigation (PIL) praying for the removal of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal from holding the post of chief minister of the government of NCT of Delhi on Thursday. The bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora is scheduled to hear the matter on Thursday.

Recently, a plea stated that Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of the Government of NCT of Delhi, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21, in the money laundering case related to the alleged liquor policy scam. Prior to the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate, the High Court of Delhi had also refused to pass orders granting interim protection from coercive action to him in the said case. The plea stated that after the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal, Minister of Govt of NCT of Delhi Atishi gave interviews to various channels on March 21, stating and affirming that Arvind Kejriwal will not resign from his post and, if needed, will run the government from jail. She further said, "Arvind Kejriwal was the Delhi CM, is the CM and will continue to remain the CM, he will not resign, the plea read.

The plea filed by one Surjit Singh Yadav through lawyer Shashi Ranjan Kumar Singh stated that the continuance of Arvind Kejriwal as the chief minister of the Government of NCT of Delhi after his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the money laundering case related to the alleged liquor policy scam has degraded the credibility and image of the Government of NCT of Delhi in the eyes of the general public. The continuation of Kejriwal as the Chief Minister of Government of the NCT of Delhi will not only lead to the obstruction of due process of law and disrupt the course of justice but will also lead to the breakdown or the constitutional machinery in the state, the plea stated.

The ED arrested Kejriwal on March 21 in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy case linked to a money laundering case and remanded the next day to the ED till March 28. The case pertains to alleged irregularities and money laundering in framing and implementing the Delhi excise policy case 2022, which was later scrapped.