Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal sent to ED custody by court till March 28

A court in Delhi on Friday sent Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to the Enforcement Directorates custody till March 28 a day after his arrest in the excise policylinked money laundering caseSpecial Judge Kaveri Baweja at the Rouse Avenue court said Kejriwal will be produced before the court on March 28 at 2 pmThe court passed the order on the Enforcement Directorates application seeking a 10day custody in the caseNo bar in law on arrested person from continuing as CM Legal expertsArvind Kejriwal can continue as Delhi chief minister post his arrest by the Enforcement Directoratein an excise policylinked money laundering case with legal experts on Friday saying there is no bar under the law which prohibits an arrested person from holding the postKejriwal was arrested by the ED on Thursday hours after the Delhi High Court refused to grant him protection from any coercive action by the central probe agencyWhile senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan said there is no bar in law on a person continuing as chief minister once arrested senior advocate Vikas Singh said though legally there is no bar administratively it will be next to impossibleKejriwal has not tender his resignation from the post of the chief minister The Aam Aadmi Party AAP said he will continue as the chief minister of Delhi and if need be he will run the government from jailOn being asked about whether Kejriwal can continue as chief minister post his arrest Sankaranarayanan said There is no bar in law on a person continuing as chief minister once arrestedAs per the Representation of the People Act it is only after a conviction that an MLA can be treated as disqualified and therefore disentitled to be a minister Although unprecedented it is technically possible for him to function from jail he saidSenior advocate Vikas Singh said Legally theres no bar but administratively it will be next to impossibleSection 8 clause 3 of the Representation of the People Act deals with disqualification of a lawmaker and says a person convicted for an offence and sentenced to two years or above shall be disqualified from the date of such convictionIt says the lawmaker shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years after his releaseUnder Article 361 of the Constitution only the president and governor are granted immunity from arrest and proceedings before a court The prime minister or chief minister of a state are not granted any immunitySenior advocate Arunabh Chowdhury said there is no prohibition express or implied under the Constitution prohibiting the appointment or continuance of a chief minister after his arrest or during his custodyAs the leader of the single largest party with an overwhelming majority 62 elected MLAs in the House of 70 even after his arrest Arvind Kejriwal continues to be the leader of the party and also continues to discharge his functions as the chief minister of Delhi The arrest by an investigating agency does not affect his election or his status as an MLA or his status as the chief minister he saidChowdhury added that since there is no prohibition or disqualification on the arrest of an elected chief minister to continue in office there is no impediment in Kejriwal continuing to discharge his functions as CMHaving said that the office of CM is the repository of constitutional trust Therefore principles of constitutional morality constitutional trust and good governance would warrant that a chief minister who has been arrested should step down from his office keeping in view the high office he occupies to maintain the constitutional integrity of his office However this decision is best left to the chief minister the senior lawyer saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever