Today in Politics: What will the Supreme Court say on Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest?

On Friday, the Supreme Court will take up the matter challenging the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi liquor policy case. He is the first sitting or serving Chief Minister to be arrested in independent India.

Kejriwal’s arrest came amidst high drama Thursday night.

Since October last year, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had sent nine summons to him as part of the probe into the alleged excise policy scam. Kejriwal had skipped all of them — and moved the Delhi High Court seeking interim relief from “coercive” action. He essentially challenged the summons issued to him by the ED and the validity of certain provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act under which the case against him was filed.

However, a division bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Manoj Jain on Thursday evening said it had heard both sides – Kejriwal’s and the ED’s – but was “not inclined” to grant him protection “at this stage”. The bench said the application will be heard on April 22.

Shortly after 4 pm, information began to emerge that the ED had sought information from the Delhi Police about security arrangements around the CM’s residence. He was arrested from his Civil Lines home at 9 pm, by which point many AAP leaders and supporters had gathered in front of his house.

Meanwhile, the AAP decided to go to the SC for a late-night hearing. However, the Court said it would do so on Friday.

With his arrest, the AAP, which started off with its anti-corruption pitch, loses its main face. And five days after the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) kicked in for the polls, the Opposition INDIA bloc also loses a key face who had been attacking the BJP on issues ranging from the Citizenship (Amendment) Act to the misuse of