National
Excise policy case: Delhi HC dismisses CM Kejriwal's plea challenging arrest by ED, remand order by trial court (Lead)
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s petition challenging his arrest by the ED and the trial court order remanding him to the agency’s custody.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, who presided over the case noted the ED’s submission that CM Kejriwal was in possession of enough material which had led them to arrest him.
Notably, last week, the ED had filed its counter-affidavit to CM Kejriwal’s petition.
Since his counsel Ramesh Gupta had submitted before Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of Rouse Avenue Court that CM Kejriwal has no objection to the custody/remand being extended further, it had said that the “petitioner (Kejriwal) has waived his right to question his custody as on today and the petitioner cannot now be allowed to argue that his custody as on today is illegal and present petition is liable to be dismissed on this ground alone.”
Justice Sharma on Tuesday dismissed CM Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest, citing sufficient evidence presented by the ED, including statements from approvers and allegations of involvement in the formulation of the excise policy.
“The court is of the view that the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal was not in contravention of legal provisions. The remand can’t be held to be illegal,” Justice Sharma said while reading out her order.
Responding to the Delhi CM’s contention regarding the timing of his arrest ahead of the General Elections, she said that law applied equally to all and courts were concerned with “constitutional morality” and not “political morality”.
“This court observed that political considerations and equations cannot be brought before a court of law as they are not relevant for legal proceedings. In the case at hand, it is important to clarify that the matter before this court is not a conflict between the central government and petitioner Kejriwal. Instead it is a case between Kejriwal and Directorate of Enforcement,” Justice Sharma said.
The court said the statements of approvers against the AAP National Convenor would be judged during trial as it cannot hold a mini trial at this stage.
It added that the AAP leader would be free to cross-examine the approvers at the stage of trial.
Justice Sharma said that the material collected by the ED suggested CM Kejriwal’s complicity in the alleged money laundering scheme, both in his personal capacity and as the National Convenor of the AAP.
The court held that Section 70 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which penalises offences by companies, was applicable in this case, despite CM Kejriwal’s argument that AAP is a political party and not a company.
Addressing concerns raised about the credibility of statements provided by approvers, the court defended the judicial process, saying that approver statements are recorded by the court and not by the probe agency.
It rebuffed allegations of coercion, stating that questioning the manner of recording statements undermines the judicial process.
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing CM Kejriwal, argued that the ED failed to comply with Section 50 of the PMLA, and alleged coercion of approvers.
However, the court upheld the legality of the arrest and remand, maintaining that the AAP leader would have the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses, including approvers, at the appropriate stage of the trial.
“The files and material placed before us reveal that the mandate of law was followed by the ED. The trial court order is not a two line order. The statements with ED are of hawala dealers as well as AAP candidates in Goa elections,” the court noted.
In its counter affidavit, the ED had submitted that the remand order dated March 22 and the subsequent remand orders dated March 28 and April 1 under challenge are detailed and well-reasoned orders as is evident on a bare reading of the said orders and hence “warrant no interference.”
The agency had said that it complied with all procedural requirements of Section 19(1) and (2) of the PMLA as well as Article 22(1) and (2) of the Constitution of India during the arrest and remand of CM Kejriwal.
The agency had claimed that the AAP leader was the kingpin and key conspirator of the Delhi excise scam in collusion with ministers of the Delhi government, AAP leaders and other persons and that it has material in possession which demonstrates that he is guilty of the offence of money laundering.
The ED had also alleged that CM Kejriwal was directly involved in the formulation of the Excise Policy 2021-22, drafted “considering the favours to be granted to the South Group” and that he demanded kickbacks from the South Group in exchange for favours to them in the formulation and implementation of the Excise Policy 2021-22.
The Delhi High Court had, on March 27, refused any interim relief to CM Kejriwal, who was arrested by the ED on March 21 and is currently in judicial custody till April 15. A copy of Justice Sharma’s detailed order is awaited.
–IANS
spr/rad
Bhubaneswar, July 26 (IANS) In a significant development, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday announced 10 per cent reservation for Agniveers of his state.
Speaking to mediapersons at Lokseva Bhawan before leaving for Delhi to attend the NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting, CM Majhi said: “All the soldiers of Indian armed forces are our pride. The Agniveers, who are trained by our defence forces, are qualified to serve the nation in various security-related sectors.”
He further said that Agniveer Scheme is a historic initiative launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“This initiative has made our youth able and fearless so that they can face various challenges in life. That is why, the Odisha government has decided to recruit Agniveers in the state’s uniformed services.
“The state government will provide up to 10 per cent reservation in its Uniformed Services for those Agniveers from the state who are not absorbed in the defence forces. There will also be 5 years of age relaxation for them,” the CM announced.
The uniformed service of the state includes the police, fire services, forest department, etc.
–IANS
gyan/
Hyderabad, July 26 (IANS) The Telangana government on Friday announced that it will bring a new comprehensive legislation to overcome problems regarding land ownership and find a permanent solution to the issues created by the Dharani portal introduced by the previous BRS government.
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy said that the new legislation will be formulated after an all-party meeting and extensive consultations.
At a review meeting on the Dharani portal with his Cabinet colleagues and senior officials, he called for suggestions from people for a system to address land-related disputes. He asserted that a detailed study needs to be conducted to find a permanent solution to every problem which is being faced in the use of Dharani.
The Chief Minister wanted officials to formulate a comprehensive Act in view of the increasing land ownership problems every day in the state. He observed that after the introduction of the Dharani portal by the previous government, the land records which were once available at the village level were shifted to the state headquarters, and all powers to solve land issues were delegated to the district Collectors in the place of village and mandal authorities. Further, the Collectors ‘ decisions have become unilateral and the land issues are not being solved in the Dharani portal. To overcome all such challenges, the Chief Minister asked the officials to hold extensive consultations with people and seek their suggestions.
The Revenue officials have been asked to select a mandal where Bhudan, Poramboku, Bancharayi, Inam, and Kandishika land issues have been pending and prepare a comprehensive report to get clarity on each land-related issue.
The CM also said that if required a debate will be taken up on Dharani in the ongoing budget session of the Assembly and a final decision taken.
The Congress, in its election manifesto, had promised to scrap Dharani and replace it with the ‘Bhumata’ portal by amending the Record of Rights (ROR) Act.
During his Budget speech on Thursday, Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka accused the previous government of having brought in Dharani with a mala fide intention of robbing some of the rightful owners of their land. The illegalities, and errors committed during the feeding of land information in the portal have resulted in hardships for innumerable landowners and farmers, he said.
He mentioned that as per the assurance given to the people, the government constituted a committee to study the problems that arose due to Dharani. As per the recommendations of the committee, in the first phase, a special drive for resolution of grievances was taken up from March 1 to 15, 2024 under the supervision of District Collectors. A total of 2,26,740 applications were pending as on March 1 and 1,22,774 were received during the drive taking the total to 3,49,514.
He said since March 1, a total of 1,79,143 grievances have been resolved.
“We have brought in 10 informative modules pertaining to 35 types of transactions in the Dharani portal. These modules will solve the field-level problems to some extent. We are reviewing the status of these grievances with Collectors from time to time. After a complete study by the Dharani committee, a final decision will be taken for a permanent resolution of the problem,” he had said.
–IANS
ms/vd
Aizawl, July 26 (IANS) The Chief Ministers from all the eight northeastern states will attend the 9th NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting in the national capital on Saturday, officials said on Friday.
Officials in different northeastern states said that all the eight Chief Ministers would attend the NITI Aayog meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre on Saturday.
The Chief Ministers include Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam), Lalduhoma (Mizoram), Conrad Sangma (Meghalaya), Neiphiu Rio (Nagaland), N. Biren Singh (Manipur), Pema Khandu (Arunachal Pradesh), Manik Saha (Tripura), and Prem Singh Tamang (Sikkim).
An official from the Mizoram Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said that Lalduhoma, President of the ruling Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), left for Delhi on Friday afternoon.
He said the Chief Minister is expected to highlight the issues related to the state’s financial needs at the meeting.
The ZPM is neither an ally of the BJP-led NDA, nor a partner of the Congress-led INDIA bloc.
–IANS
sc/arm
Bengaluru, July 26 (IANS) In an embarrassment to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka, party leader and former state Cabinet minister Arvind Limbavali said the BJP has “totally failed as an opposition”.
“It is regrettable that there has been no harmony and understanding between our party’s state president (B.Y. Vijayendra) who is also an MLA and the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly (R. Ashoka),” he said.
Taking to X, Limbavali, considered close to RSS, said: “MUDA scam, Valmiki Development Corporation scam, misuse of grants reserved for SC-ST for guarantee scheme money… Our party has not been able to take any issue to a logical conclusion.
“The opposition leaders also failed to present effectively on these issues. Because of this, people have started to wonder whether the opposition party was involved with the ruling party!” Limbavali said.
The BJP leader said that the heat over the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam matter was seen as an eye-wiping strategy.
“The Monsoon Session of the State Legislature has concluded. The BJP, which was supposed to be the voice of the people by pointing out the failures of the state government, has totally failed in doing it as an opposition party,” the former minister said.
He said although “the BJP had an opportunity to highlight the government’s row of scandals, mismanagement and failures in the House, our leaders have completely failed to seize this opportunity”.
“Dengue is rampant in many districts, including Bengaluru, which is known as the IT-BT capital and is a model for the country in the field of science. In many districts of the state, lakhs of people have lost their households due to heavy rains and floods. It is unfortunate that our party leaders did not feel that they should shed light on this and represent the sufferings of the people of the state!” Limabavali said.
“The action of our party leaders, who did not utilise the opportunity and time in the House adequately, spent the whole session in vain and joined hands with the ruling party in curtailing the proceedings of the House when there was still one day left, is questionable,” he further said.
“Overall, the BJP has completely failed as the opposition in this session. Given the behaviour of the leaders in the session, it has turned out to be a big question to all sincere and hardworking ‘karyakartas’ how the BJP headed by these leaders can engage itself in major struggles in the coming days.
“I am very worried and disappointed to see this condition of our party, which was once roaring in the sessions and responding to people’s aspirations even when we had a very low number of seats,” he added.
The party had denied a ticket to Arvind Limbavali in the 2023 Assembly elections for the Mahadevapura assembly seat in Bengaluru.
The party had issued a ticket to his wife, Manjula Arvind Limbavali, and she won with a margin of 44,501 votes.
–IANS
mka/pgh
New Delhi, July 26 (IANS) Indian Railways has achieved a “remarkable expansion” of 31,180 km from 2014 to 2024, with an average commissioning rate of 8.54 km per day for new lines, gauge conversions, and doubling sections, according to information provided to Parliament on Friday.
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told the Rajya Sabha, in a written reply, that presently 651 surveys of new line, gauge conversion, and doubling having a total length of 49,983 km have been taken up on Indian Railways under PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (NMP) for the development of multimodal connectivity infrastructure to various Economic Zones.
The objective is to have integrated planning, enhanced logistics efficiency, and remove gaps for seamless movement of people, goods and services including connectivity to industrial clusters, ports, mines, power plants, tourist and cultural places and agricultural zones, the minister added.
An average annual Budget allocation of Rs 68,634 crore for new line, gauge conversion, and doubling projects across Indian Railways has been made in 2024-25, Vashnaw stated.
As of April 1, 2024, across Indian Railways, 488 Railway Infrastructure projects (187 new line, 40 gauge conversion and 261 doubling) of total length 44,488 km, costing approx. Rs 7.44 lakh crore are in the planning/approval/construction stage, out of which, 12,045 km length has been commissioned and expenditure of approximately Rs 2.92 lakh crore has been incurred up to March 2024, the minister said.
Railway projects are surveyed/sanctioned/executed Zonal Railway-wise and not state/area-wise/district-wise as the railway projects may span across state boundaries. Furthermore, railway infrastructure projects are taken up on the basis of remunerativeness, last mile connectivity, missing links and alternate routes, augmentation of congested/saturated lines, socio-economic considerations etc. depending upon liabilities of ongoing projects, overall availability of funds and competing demands, Vaishnaw added.
–IANS
sps/vd
Norway closes embassy in Uganda- Paris Olympics: Sindhu, Sharath lead India as Games start with spectacular Opening Ceremony (Ld)
- Trump vows to bring peace to West Asia if re-elected
- Paris Olympics: PM Modi extends his best wishes to the Indian contingent as the Games commence
- Paris Olympics: Lady Gaga sets stage on fire as rain lashes Opening Ceremony
- Odisha CM announces 10 per cent reservation for Agniveers
- ATP Tour: Berrettini advances to second final in as many weeks in Kitzbuhel
- Telangana plans new legislation to overcome land-related problems
- All 8 NE CMs to attend NITI Aayog meeting in Delhi on Saturday
- 'BJP totally failed as an opposition', ex-K'taka minister slams his own party
-
Video1 year agoPM Modi Attacks Congress in Karnataka with “Kerala Story”
-
Cricket1 year ago
CSK players rejoice 5th IPL title with their families (Pics)
-
Politics1 year ago
Siddaramaiah & DK Shivakumar sworn in as Chief Minister & Deputy CM respectively
-
Entertainment1 year ago
Karan Deol weds his longtime Girlfriend Drisha Acharya (Pics)
-
Entertainment1 year ago
Urvashi Rautela dazzles on Cannes 2023 red carpet (Pics)
-
Entertainment1 year ago
Sunny Leone gets ready for Kennedy premiere in Cannes (Pics)
-
Entertainment1 year ago
Alia Bhatt looks crazy beautiful in Prabal Gurung creation at MET GALA 2023 (Pics)
-
Sports6 years agoHistory Of Official FIFA WORLD CUP Match balls
