By admin 
New Delhi, Dec 27 (PTI) Several politicians, including former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former deputy CM Manish Sisodia, entered the legal battlefield seeking relief ranging from bail to administrative liability in the Delhi High Court in 2024 .
When it came to court cases, the AAP politicians were clearly in the majority.
The irregularities case related to Delhi’s excise policy for 2021-2022 led to the arrests of AAP national president Kejriwal and Sisodia, triggering a flurry of pleas in the Supreme Court.
Kejriwal became the first-ever sitting chief minister of a state to be arrested.
On March 21, a Supreme Court decision denying Kejriwal interim protection from arrest in the excise-related money laundering case resulted in his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate, India’s federal agency that investigates white-collar crime.
What followed until his release in September was a flurry of cases and counter-suits – some by Kejriwal to exercise his legal remedies, while public-spirited individuals filed lawsuits against his decision to continue as CM.
On April 9, the Supreme Court dismissed Kejriwal’s plea against his arrest by ED, and on June 25, the court stayed a trial court order granting him bail in the case. On August 5, the Supreme Court confirmed his arrest by the CBI in the June 26 excise policy-related corruption case.
Bail pleas of Sisodia and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh – both named as accused in the excise policy case – were rejected by the Supreme Court in May and February respectively.
Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar, who was detained by police on a complaint by former Delhi Women’s Commission chief and AAP leader Swati Maliwal, was denied relief by the Supreme Court in July.
On March 11, the Supreme Court denied relief to another AAP politician, MLA Amanatullah Khan, and dismissed his anticipatory bail plea in a money laundering case in a case of alleged irregularities in the Waqf administration.
But there were also some victories. On June 5, the Supreme Court ruled that AAP was entitled to accommodation for its party office like other national parties and asked the Center to allot a bungalow in a time-bound manner.
BRS leader K Kavitha was not so lucky when the Supreme Court denied her bail in the corruption and money laundering cases related to the alleged July 1 excise tax scam.
A bench headed by former acting Chief Justice Manmohan has dismissed PILs on the issue of Kejriwal assuming the CM’s post after his arrest, but said the AAP leader’s “personal decision” to continue should not result in violation of the fundamental rights of students who were waiting for the delivery of books in municipal schools.
Justice Manmohan took oath as Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court on September 29 and was later appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court on December 16.
Litigation in the Supreme Court was not just the preserve of AAP politicians. BJP leaders, including Opposition Leader Vijender Gupta, jumped into the fray in October, seeking directions to submit CAG reports on liquor excise, pollution and finance by the Delhi government to the state Assembly.
In response to the petition, 14 reports were sent by the Minister of Finance to the Lieutenant Governor for approval in December. The Opposition MLAs filed a second plea directing the Delhi government and its finance minister to forward the reports to the speaker of the assembly for necessary action. The plea is pending.
Another BJP MLA, Jitendra Mahajan, approached the Supreme Court seeking repair and reopening of a flyover – which had been closed for a few years – near Nathu Colony Chowk in the national capital.
In a bid to improve healthcare, the Supreme Court directed the AIIMS director to review critical care facilities in government hospitals and often decried the ‘bitter’ fights between the Delhi Health Minister and the secretary, while calling for a more collaborative approach.
The politicians’ freebie culture was condemned by the Supreme Court, which said authorities were not undertaking development work due to lack of revenue.
Besides politicians, the Supreme Court also dealt with other issues.
After the drowning death of three aspiring civil servants in the basement of a coaching center in Old Rajinder Nagar in July, the Supreme Court transferred the investigation from the Delhi Police to the CBI. It said Delhi’s “outdated” administrative, financial and physical infrastructure needed to be revalued.
It scrutinized student politicians, pulled out candidates from the Delhi University Student Union for damaging public and private properties during campaigns and ordered results to be announced once the mess was cleared.
On March 22, the Supreme Court said there were “some contradictions” in the decision acquitting former telecom minister A Raja and 16 others while upholding the CBI’s appeal, six years after the court’s verdict in the 2G case.
Student activist Sharjeel Imam was granted bail by the Supreme Court in a sedition case related to the 2020 riots.
In a landmark judgment on July 9, it upheld the Food Safety and Standard Authority’s decision to increase the size of statutory warnings against health harm on pan masala packaging to 50 percent of the front label from a previous size of 3mm. .
On April 16, it also confirmed the Centre’s decision to dissolve the Maulana Azad Education Foundation, which was established in 1989 to promote education among educationally disadvantaged minorities.
Besides the elevation of Justice Manmohan to the Supreme Court, Justice Rajiv Shakdher and Justice Suresh Kumar Kait of the Supreme Court were appointed Chief Justices of the High Courts of Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh respectively in September.
The Supreme Court entered the new year with 35 judges, against a sanctioned strength of 60, including 15 additional judges.
The Supreme Court is scheduled for crucial hearings in 2025. Some are embracing the argument of personal freedom in the cases of Umar Khalid, Khalid Saifi and Gulfisha Fatima – accused in the terror case linked to the riots.
A plea by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy’s to decide Rahul Gandhi’s Indian citizenship would come up in January next year.
Kejriwal and Sisodia would return to the Supreme Court to continue their appeal against a court order taking cognizance of a charge against them in the excise-related money laundering case.