Acting Chief Justice Manmohan of the Delhi High Court warned lawyers on Wednesday against organizing protests on court premises regarding the arrest of Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, stating that the repercussions would be “severe”.
The Aam Aadmi Party’s legal cell has summoned a protest in district courts in Delhi on Wednesday following Kejriwal’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case.
“Consequences would be severe for organizing protests in court. Courts cannot be withheld. Courts cannot be stopped. We cannot take away someone’s right to approach the court,” Justice Manmohan stated.
“If someone does it, they would do it at their own peril,” the Chief Justice asserted.
The matter was raised before a bench consisting of the acting chief justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet P S Arora by advocate Vaibhav Singh, who asserted that court premises cannot be utilized for political purposes.
The Acting Chief Justice expressed his intention to address the issue the following day, expressing hope that “sense will prevail”. He further stated that necessary action would be taken if deemed necessary. Kejriwal was apprehended on March 21 and subsequently remanded to ED custody until March 28 by a Delhi court. He is confronted with allegations of direct involvement in a conspiracy pertaining to the formulation of the excise policy favoring specific individuals.
