Politicians and political groups across the nation fought legal battles in local courts on March 22.
Numerous well-known politicians appeared in court on Friday, including Tejasvi Surya, a member of parliament for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and K Kavitha, the leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). Some were successful in getting relief, while others came back empty-handed.
It was also the day that a sitting Chief Minister was refused respite, which meant that, for the first time in Indian democracy’s history, he would now have to lead his government from prison.
The six cases against politicians and political groups that were heard by the courts yesterday are listed below.
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How judges handled political parties’ and individuals’ cases in the lead-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections
BJP MP Tejasvi Surya and BRS leader K Kavitha were among the prominent politicians in court on Friday.
K Ponmudi, RN Ravi, Tejasvi Surya, Arvind Kejriwal, K Kavitha, and the Congress party logo
K Ponmudi, RN Ravi, Tejasvi Surya, Arvind Kejriwal, K Kavitha, and the Congress party logo
Wankhade Satyendra
Published at 11:40 a.m. on March 23, 2024
read for four minutes
Politicians and political groups across the nation fought legal battles in local courts on March 22.
Numerous well-known politicians appeared in court on Friday, including Tejasvi Surya, a member of parliament for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and K Kavitha, the leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). Some were successful in getting relief, while others came back empty-handed.
It was also the day that a sitting Chief Minister was refused respite, which meant that, for the first time in Indian democracy’s history, he would now have to lead his government from prison.
The six cases against politicians and political groups that were heard by the courts yesterday are listed below.
Supreme Court; High Court of Delhi; Court of Rouse Avenue; High Court of Karanataka.
Supreme Court; High Court of Delhi; Court of Rouse Avenue; High Court of Karanataka.
No reprieve for Arvind Kejriwal (AAP) in Rouse Avenue Court
Arvind Kejriwal, the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the chief minister of Delhi, was arrested in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy case. The Rouse Avenue Court remanded him to the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) custody till March 28.
The ED’s appeal for Kejriwal’s custody was partially allowed by Special Judge Kaveri Baweja. The Court heard in-depth arguments from the ED and Kejriwal’s legal representative before issuing the remand order.
Kejriwal was taken into prison by the ED on Thursday night following an investigation at his home late into the night. The agency had requested ten days of incarceration.
Hours after the Delhi High Court denied his request for temporary protection from arrest, he was taken into custody.
On Thursday night, Kejriwal filed a motion with the Supreme Court contesting his arrest; however, he ultimately decided to drop that appeal.
K Kavitha (BRS): No remedy from the Supreme Court
BRS leader K Kavitha was recently detained by the ED in a money laundering case related to the Delhi Excise Policy issue; however, the Supreme Court declined to provide any quick relief to her.
It was decided by a special bench consisting of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, MM Sundresh, and Bela M Trivedi that she would need to request bail from the trial court.
The Court linked the case with the petitions asking for a review of the Vijay Madanlal ruling in Kavitha’s challenge to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) provisions.
As the session came to an end, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, who represented Kavitha, did not hold back in his criticism of the bench.
“If my lords don’t mind me saying, when history of this Court is written, this period will not be golden,” he stated.
Delhi High Court v. Indian National Congress: No relief
The Indian National Congress (INC) filed three petitions contesting the reassessment processes the Income Tax (IT) Department had started against the party, but the Delhi High Court denied them.
The IT Department’s reassessment procedures against the opposition party for the years 2014–15, 2015–16, and 2016–17 were contested in the opposition party’s petitions.
The Congress claims that the investigation has resulted in the freezing of its accounts, leaving it unable to raise the necessary funds to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.
K Ponmudi (DMK): Relief ordered by the Supreme Court
On Friday, the Supreme Court was notified that K Ponmudi, the leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), was invited by Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi to take the oath of office as a minister.
This came after the Governor was severely chastised by a Bench consisting of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra on March 21 for refusing to re-induct Ponmudi as a minister despite the Supreme Court staying his conviction in a criminal case.
Senior Advocate P Wilson, speaking for the State administration, declared after the event that “parliamentary democracy survives because of you.”
On Friday night, Ponmudi was sworn in.
How cases involving politicians and parties were handled by courts in the lead-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections
