Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today challenged in Delhi High Court his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case related to the now-scrapped liquor policy. The bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma has passed over the matter for a hearing later in the day after Mr Kejriwal’s counsel, Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi questioned the agency’s “delaying tactics”.

Appearing for the ED, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju said the agency got a copy of Mr Kejriwal’s petition only yesterday and sought three weeks’ time to file a detailed reply.

Mr Singhvi responded, “The person has been jail. On March 23, the petition was filed. Defects were cured later. I am sure Mr Raju does not want us to serve the defective copy to him. Defects were cleared late last night and we shared the petition with him then.”

Justice Sharma then said she will seek a reply and give a short date for the hearing on interim relief.

Mr Singhvi said he has challenged the remand that ends tomorrow. “I am asking the ladyship to decide the basis of the remand. That requires no reply from anyone.”

“This delaying tactics, I am asking my ladyships to decide it today. There are weighty reasons why a matter which challenges the foundation of the remand requires a hearing today. It is my ladyship’s prerogative to allow it or deny it. My ladyship may take a call on that. Therefore, there is no question of reply,” he said.

Mr Kejriwal has said in his petition that his arrest violated his human rights and that the ED has failed to prove the crime. “Arrest without interrogation shows that the current action is politically motivated,” he has said, demanding immediate release from jail and cancellation of remand.

The court then said it will hear the matter later in the day after finishing the supplementary list.

When the court started hearing the matter, Mr Singhvi said the ED’s request for three weeks’ time is “completely mala fide”. “Even one day incarceration is an issue of fundamental right,” he said.

“There is a strange situation of a sitting CM arrested on a summons issued in October without any statement under Section 50 and non-existent inquiry. The object of the arrest is very different. It is to create a non-level playing field,” he said.

“You are hitting at the heart of democracy and the heart of basic structure doctrine,” he said.

A day after his arrest, Mr Kejriwal had approached the Supreme Court for relief. However, he later withdrew his petition and his counsel, Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi, said they would contest the remand proceedings before the trial court and return to the top court with another petition.

Thereafter, he was produced before the Rouse Avenue court, which remanded him in a weeklong custody.

The ED’s money laundering case is based on a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2022 that alleged irregularities in the liquor policy.

The CBI case, registered on a complaint by Delhi’s Centre-appointed Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, alleges that top AAP leaders intentionally left loopholes in the policy to favour some licensees.

The ED alleges that Mr Kejriwal was a key conspirator in the case. AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, and Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Kavitha have been arrested in this connection.

The Opposition leaders have denied the allegations and accused the BJP-led central government of using probe agencies such as ED and CBI for political motives.

The AAP has also hit out at the BJP over the timing of the arrest, alleging that it was trying to prevent Mr Kejriwal from campaigning for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. The party, which is in power in Delhi, has maintained that Mr Kejriwal will continue as Chief Minister. AAP ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj have said the Chief Minister is issuing orders from the ED’s lock-up and assured Delhi residents that the Chief Minister is constantly thinking about their well-being.

“Arvind Kejriwal will reveal in court tomorrow where the money of the so-called liquor scam is,” says his wife Sunita

US President Joe Biden praised local authorities for their prompt action during the accident at Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, one of the nation’s busiest arteries that collapsed hours on Tuesday after being struck by a massive freight ship. He also made a special mention to the crew of the ship, all of whom were Indians.

“Personnel on board the ship were able to alert the Maryland Department of Transportation that they had lost control of their vessel, as you all know and have reported.  As a result, local authorities were able to close the bridge to traffic before the bridge was struck, which undoubtedly saved lives,” Biden said in his address.

“We’re incredibly grateful for the brave rescuers who immediately rushed to the scene,” the US President added.

On Tuesday, the Singapore-flagged container ship Dali, departing Baltimore with a full cargo en route to Sri Lanka, crashed into a concrete pier supporting the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.

Within seconds almost the entire bridge collapsed and plunged into what officials said was roughly 50 feet of frigid water below.

Moments before, the ship issued a Mayday call warning that it had lost power — prompting authorities to scramble to shut down traffic to the bridge, potentially saving lives.

CCTV footage shows the ship going dark twice in the minutes before the crash. A puff of smoke can also be seen before the collision.

While all 22 crew were unharmed and accounted for, six repairmen on the bridge have been missing. They were part of a construction crew working on repairing potholes on the bridge when it collapsed around midnight.

Biden also announced that the federal government will pay the full cost to rebuild the bridge.

Asked why the federal government should pick the tab if the ship and its operator were potentially to blame, he said, “That could be but we’re not going to wait for that to happen. We’re going to pay for it to get the bridge rebuilt and opened.”

Authorities have closed the port “until further notice” and traffic is being diverted away from the bridge as the rescue effort continues.

The collapse is expected to have a severe impact on the region. Traffic around Baltimore will be affected by the loss of the bridge, while shipping could also see long delays thanks to the debris now choking the waterway.