The Supreme Court on Tuesday, 28 February, refused to entertain a plea filed by Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia challenging his arrest in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case.
The CBI had arrested the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader after questioning him for over seven hours on Sunday.
'Go To The High Court': A bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said that it cannot intervene because Sisodia has "alternative remedies."
Sisodia's lawyer Abhishek Singhvi contended that his arrest was illegal as his name was not in the CBI chargesheet and the CBI's allegation that he was not cooperating in the investigation was a weak excuse.
Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, responding to this, said:
"Go to the high court. Our doors are open, but we are not ready to hear it at this stage."
So what now? AAP will now approach the High Court, the party said after the hearing, news agency ANI reported.
What happened before the hearing? Earlier in the day, the top court had agreed to list and hear the case urgently on the same day after the petition was filed in the morning.
Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court on Monday, 27 February, had sent Sisodia to CBI remand till 4 March amid nationwide protests by AAP workers against Sisodia's arrest.
"I am told that most CBI officers were against Manish’s arrest. All of them have huge respect for him and there is no evidence against him. But the political pressure to arrest him was so high that they had to obey their political masters," said Delhi's CM and AAP's chief Arvind Kejriwal.
What did the Delhi court say? The court, according to media reports, said:
"It is true that he cannot be expected to make self incriminating statements, but the interests of justice and of a fair investigation require that he should come up with some legitimate answers to the questions which are being put to him by the IO."
Further, the court directed:
Sisodia’s interrogation should be conducted “at some place having CCTV coverage in accordance with guidelines laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court”
The said footage (from the CCTV camera) shall be preserved by the CBI
Sisodia shall be medically examined once every 48 hours
This is to ward off fear officers employing force or third degree methods in a bid to extract information.
(With inputs from NDTV, Bar and Bench)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)