Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s legal saga of recent times that has turned a subject of attention for one and all across the country. His arrest by ED under PMLA is the epicentre of the debates on the confluence between law and politics.
While awarding bail to Kejriwal, the top court reiterated one very pertinent principle, “Mere interrogation does not justify arrest.” An accumulated emphasis on the point that arrest is not meant to serve as a pressure technique undue in effect. It further questions the effectiveness of Section 19 of the PMLA in detaining anybody at the investigating agency’s will by their whims and fancies of continuing the investigations.
Section 19 of the PMLA grants far-reaching powers to investigators, a provision that has been severely criticised for its potential to enable arbitrary detentions. This is fully reflected in the grim light in which individual rights have been pitted against the powers of investigating agencies in the SC’s decision referring it to a larger bench.
The other important question of law in this case is the applicability of Section 45 vis-à-vis Section 19 of the PMLA. While Section 45 involves judicial discretion for granting bail, it has been made explicitly subject to Section 19, which is dependent on the opinion of investigating officers, putting court scrutiny above it. The clarification by the court is equally necessary for avoiding misuses of arrest powers and other forms of accountability.
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This is added to by the fact that Kejriwal is an elected leader, but did not computerise his resignation as chief minister and left it to Kejriwal’s wise disastrous discretion. It is nuanced and shows the court is politically savvy.
This judgment lays down the need for judicial scrutiny into matters relating to arrest and detention, all the more so in cases concerning public figures. In a democratic polity, it elaborates respect toward elected representatives while upholding the rule of law itself.
In the tussle between law and politics, Kejriwal’s arrest offered a defining moment—one to ruminate over the precarious balance that holds our legal principle collaborator. The legal battle now in full swing, the nation views, aware that the after-effects of it are going to resound much beyond the confines of the court.
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