Fourteen political parties led by the Congress have moved Supreme Court against arbitrary use of Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in arresting opposition leaders. The top court agreed to consider the plea on April 5.
According to a report by LiveLaw, the matter was mentioned today before CJI DY Chandrachud by Senior Advocate AM Singhvi. The political parties sought for laying down of guidelines for law enforcing agencies and courts on arrest, remand and bail. "Ninety five per cent cases are against opposition leaders. We are asking for pre-arrest guidelines and post-arrest guidelines," Singhvi said.
Parties that have approached the court include Shiv Sena, AAP, DMK, RJD, Bharat Rashtra Samithi, AITC, NCP, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, JD(U), CPI(M), Communist Party of India, Samajwadi Party and J&K National Conference.
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Earlier, nine opposition leaders including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging "misuse of central agencies" amidst the war of words over the arrest of former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in the excise policy case.
"... After a long witch-hunt, Manish Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with alleged irregularity without a shred of evidence against him," the opposition leaders said in the letter to PM Modi.
Meanwhile, a court in Surat in Gujarat on Thursday sentenced Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him over his “why all thieves have Modi surname” remarks.
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(With inputs from PTI)
