HE is not a man who can flee; he is in the public eye." Courtroom 2, Delhi High Court is all crammed on the March 21 afternoon, a sultry stillness settling over faces in the audience while a verbal duel rages between Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju.
"The ED has been calling since last year; can't they wait for two more months? ...the summonses were sent with an oblique motive to arrest him. The investigation has been going on since August 2022," says Advocate Singhvi, appearing for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
The Chief Minister, after being issued a ninth summons by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), had approached the high court, seeking it to direct the probing agency to stay coercive action against him for not appearing on the eight summonses sent prior.
"You can't jump the gun; put the cart before the horse. The court has to hear first on maintainability (of the plea). They (petitioner) have to demonstrate first that it is maintainable; without demonstration, they can't get interim relief," ASG Raju, representing the central agency, responded.
The back and forth will continue for a while. The court will ultimately deny relief to Kejriwal against 'use of force'. But in the course of the hearing, the division bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Manoj Jain will make an "oral observation" that will usher in the storm clouds; a hailstorm shall descend to irrevocably alter the political scenario of the city.
The country will be pelted with headlines like 'first time in the history..." and 'never before...' while the citizen will stare in mute wonderment.
The observation was informal, almost ironic; "You are sending summons after summons.
What has prevented you from arresting him?" the bench asked ED's counsel. And that was it. Hours later, a sticky evening has crept in.
This story is from the April 08, 2024 edition of The Morning Standard.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 08, 2024 edition of The Morning Standard.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Rajasthan lose four on the trot
ALREADY-qualified Rajasthan couldn't stem the rot as they went down to alreadye liminated Punjab Kings in a low-scoring match at Guwahati, a designated 'home' venue for the former.
Bowling key as SRH eye play-offs
SUNRISERS Hyderabad batters seem on a mission every time they take the field this IPL. Be it setting the biggest IPL totals, not once but twice, or posting the highest playoff score or chasing down a target above 160 under 10 overs.
NEERAJ'S STAR TURN
Olympic champ, in his first event in the country in over three years, comes from behir to take gold at Fed Cup
Al-Vistara merger awaits FDI, other approvals: SIA
AIR INDIA-Vistara merger will strengthen Singapore International Airlines' (SIA) multi-hub strategy and allow it to continue participating directly in the fast-growing aviation market, said SIA on Wednesday while announcing its March quarter results.
Mahindra's XUV 3XO clocks 50K bookings in 60 minutes
HIGHLIGHTING the ever-increasing shift of consumers towards sports utility vehicles (SUVs), Mahindra & Mahindra's (M&M) recently launched compact SUV, the XUV 3XO, clocked 50,000 bookings in only 60 minutes, outpacing bookings received new Maruti Suzuki's fourth generation Swift hatchback by a wide margin (just 10,000 booking in 10 days).
Trade deficit widens to $19.1 bn in April
INDIA'S merchandise trade deficit increased to $19.1 billion in April from $15.6 billion recorded in March, due to significant decline in exports, the government data showed on Wednesday.
LIC gets 3 more years to pare govt stake to 90%
Sebi allows govt higher shareholding; listed companies need to have 25% public float
France declares emergency in New Caledonia
French government spokeswoman Prisca Thevenot announced the decision after a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday afternoon in Paris. It follows days of unrest in the Pacific territory and what Thevenot described as \"scenes of chaos,\" with a member of the security services reported among the four killed.
Joe Biden mulls $1 bn sale of arms, ammunition to Israel
THE Biden administration has told key lawmakers it plans to move forward on a new $1 billion sale of arms and ammunition to Israel, three congressional aides say.
Ready for talks that address all sides of Ukraine war, says Putin
Russian leader set to leave on two-day state visit of China, which supports his invasion