Supreme Court issues notice to ED on Kejriwal's plea challenging arrest

• SC issues notice to ED on Arvind Kejriwal's plea challenging his arrest in a money-laundering case
• The bench directs ED to respond by April 24, further hearing to start from April 29
• Kejriwal's judicial custody extended till April 23

The Supreme Court, on Monday, issued a notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in response to a plea by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal challenging his arrest in a money-laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy. 

The bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta directed the ED to respond to Kejriwal's plea by April 24. The matter is scheduled to be heard in the week commencing April 29.

The plea by Arvind Kejriwal challenges the Delhi High Court's order that upheld his arrest in the case. The High Court, on April 9, upheld the arrest, stating that the ED was left with "little option" after Kejriwal repeatedly skipped summonses and refused to join the investigation. Kejriwal has maintained that his arrest in the money-laundering case is unjustified and seeks relief from the Supreme Court.