ED acted in most highhanded manner, Arvind Kejriwal tells SC in Delhi excise policy case

livemint.com:

Arvind Kejriwal filed a response to the Enforcement Directorate’s affidavit in the Supreme Court on Saturday. In the affidavit, Kejriwal told the court that the financial probe agency acted in a "most highhanded manner" in a money-laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam.

In a rejoinder to the ED's reply affidavit filed on his petition challenging his arrest in the case, Kejriwal said he has always cooperated with the investigation, news agency PTI reported. The Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) national convenor mentioned that the ED, in its reply affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, said that one of the reasons which necessitated his arrest was that he did not remain present before the investigating officer (IO) despite being summoned nine times.

Kejriwal said the ED said in its reply that in such a case, the IO was justified in forming an opinion that custodial interrogation would lead to "a qualitatively more elicitation-orientated" questioning of the accused. "The aforementioned tenor, text and contents of the reply leave no manner of doubt that the ED has acted in a most highhanded manner in a gross affront to the due process of law," he said.

Kejriwal further claimed that a cumulative reading of the ED's stand in its reply would expose the "bogey and blatant falsehood" in the conduct of its proceedings. Kejriwal said the record would reveal that each and every summons issued to him was duly responded to while seeking vital details and information, which under no circumstances can be claimed to be privileged or confidential by the ED.

Kejriwal claimed that the ED has never spelt out the alleged non-cooperation by him. "What was the requirement in not calling the petitioner (Kejriwal) either through an