‘No stay order’: Delhi high court hears CBI petition against Arvind Kejriwal’s discharge in excise policy case

NEW DELHI: Noting that there is no stay order from Supreme Court, Delhi High Court on Monday further heard CBI’s plea challenging the discharge of former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and 22 others in the liquor policy case.During the brief hearing, one of the senior counsels for the AAP functionaries informed Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma that they moved the apex court challenging HC’s last order in which it issued them notice and stayed the trial court’s observations against the CBI’s lead investigator.“I have not received any stay yet. Till the court gets an order staying the proceedings, the case has to proceed according to law,” Sharma orally observed, and granted more time to the respondents to file their replies.

HC listed CBI’s petition assailing the trial court’s decision for hearing on April 6 and noted that Kejriwal and the others did not appear on the first day of the hearing. When asked to file their stand, they sought more time to do so.Opposing the extension of time, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing CBI, said the trial court’s “perverse” order “cannot remain on record even for a second morethan necessary” and that the respondents should not be given more than a week to file their response.

A reply is not necessary when the entire record of the trial court is available, he argued, adding although Kejriwal has the right to file an appeal, it must be ensured their petition in the apex court gets listed, as the respondents “cannot keep it pending” in SC’s registry.“There has been a pattern. Make allegations and run away. Such litigants can’t be encouraged. Career (was made) out of allegations,” Mehta said.Senior advocate N Hariharan, appearing for the AAP functionaries, shot back that “he was not in charge” of the Supreme Court’s registry, and at least four weeks’ time should be given to them for filing their replies.“It is already three weeks(from today). I will take it up on April 6,” HC observed.The senior lawyers appearing for the discharged persons said there was no urgency, and they should be given a reasonable time to file their replies, in a matter where the trial court gave comprehensive findings in their favour.

They asserted no prejudice would be caused to CBI if more time was granted.Last month, the special CBI court discharged Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and 21 others, while pulling up the investigating agency, saying it was unable to make out a tenable case that could survive judicial scrutiny. It said CBI’s case stood discredited in its entirety. Kejriwal and Sisodia moved SC in the matter, after the HC chief justice rejected their request to transfer CBI’s plea against their discharge from Sharma to another judge.