4 people move HC challenging summons in money laundering case involving Congress leader Shivakumar
New Delhi, Nov 1: Four persons Friday approached the Delhi High Court seeking quashing of summons issued to them by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case allegedly involving Karnataka Congress leader D K Shivakumar.
Justice Brijesh Sethi said it would hear the pleas in detail on November 4 when similar petitions filed by Shivakumar's wife and mother are also listed.
The court was hearing four separate pleas by Haumanthaiah -- an employee at Karnataka Bhavan, K V Lakshmamma, Meenakshi and Jayasheela, seeking challenging the summons issued to them by the probe agency.
Senior advocate Mohit Mathur, representing the four persons, said the ED can go to Bangalore and question them and why the officials are calling them to Delhi.
Central government standing counsel Amit Mahajan, representing the ED, said the similar matters are coming up on Monday and the court can hear all of them together.
Shivakumar's wife Usha and mother Gowaramma (85) have also challenged in the high court the summons issued to them by the agency in the money laundering case.
A 7-time MLA in Karnataka, Shivakumar was arrested by the ED on September 3 under the PMLA.
He was lodged in Tihar jail, and granted bail by the high court on October 23. He had challenged the trial court's order denying him bail.
The ED had in September last year registered the money laundering case against Shivakumar, Haumanthaiah and others.
The case was based on a charge sheet (prosecution complaint) filed by the Income Tax Department against them last year before a special court in Bengaluru on charges of alleged tax evasion and 'hawala' transactions worth crores of rupees.
The I-T department has accused Shivakumar and his alleged associate S K Sharma of indulging in transactions involving huge amounts of unaccounted money on a regular basis through 'hawala' channels with the help of three other accused.
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Police arrested Kejriwal's aide at same time his anticipatory bail plea was being heard: Atishi
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Minister Atishi alleged on Saturday that the city police arrested Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar at the same time his anticipatory bail plea was being heard in court.
Kumar was arrested on Saturday in connection with the alleged assault on AAP Rajya Sabha member Swati Maliwal, officials said.
He was picked up from the chief minister's residence by a Delhi Police team around noon, a senior officer said.
Addressing a press conference, Atishi said Kumar had filed a plea for anticipatory bail before the Tis Hazari court.
Kumar was picked up for questioning by the Delhi Police around 11 am. As soon as he was taken for questioning, news channels started saying he had been arrested, she claimed.
"This shows the BJP's conspiracy. Their intention is to disturb our election campaign and Arvind Kejriwal," she said.
Atishi said the Tis Hazari court considered Kumar's matter urgent and agreed to hear his plea on Saturday itself.
"The court commenced hearing on his plea at 3:55 pm and within 20 minutes, the Delhi Police arrested him at the Civil Lines police station. As soon as his lawyers began arguments, the police learnt that their case is weak and Kumar would get relief. So they arrested Kumar," she claimed.
Atishi alleged that when the court was dictating its order on the matter at 4:55 pm, the Delhi Police lawyer appeared through videoconferencing and said Kumar had already been arrested.
Kumar's anticipatory bail plea has become "infructuous" as he has been arrested, the court observed.
The chief minister's aide, accused of assaulting Maliwal on May 13 at Kejriwal's residence, was arrested two days after an FIR was registered against him at the Civil Lines police station.
Additional Sessions Judge Sushil Anuj Tyagi, while dictating the order to the court staff on the anticipatory bail plea, noted that Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Kumar Srivastava appeared through videoconferencing around 4:45 pm and informed the court that Kumar had already been arrested.
Atishi said, "Even they knew that their case was weak and if the case was heard, Bibhav Kumar would get bail. That is why tomorrow (Sunday) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will lead all AAP leaders and to the BJP headquarters and court arrest."
Kejriwal said he and other AAP leaders would go to the BJP headquarters on Sunday "so that the prime minister can send anyone he wants to jail".
The BJP is saying they would send AAP MP Raghav Chadha and Delhi ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj to jail, he claimed at a press briefing, hours after Kumar was arrested.
