No immediate relief for Arvind Kejriwal from Supreme Court, next hearing on April 29

The Supreme Court on Monday sought response from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the plea of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in which he has challenged his arrest in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Dutta issued notice to the ED on Kejriwal's plea challenging the Delhi High Court order which had upheld his arrest in the case.

The bench asked ED to file its reply on the petition by April 24. The bench said that the case will be heard in the week starting from April 29. This means that Kejriwal will have to remain in jail for the time being. Kejriwal is currently lodged in Tihar jail.

The high court had on April 9 upheld Kejriwal's arrest in the money laundering case, saying the ED was left with 'little options' after being repeatedly issued summons and refusing to join the investigation.

The High Court had rejected Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kejriwal's plea challenging his arrest by the ED and his subsequent sending to the custody of the federal agency.

This case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in the preparation and implementation of the Excise Policy of the Delhi Government for 2021-22. The related policy was later cancelled.

The ED had arrested Kejriwal on March 21, hours after the High Court refused to grant him protection from punitive action by the anti-money laundering agency.