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Mr Kejriwal has sought an urgent hearing by Sunday.

New Delhi:

Terming his arrest and the order sending him to the Enforcement Directorate’s custody illegal, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has approached the high court for an urgent hearing and sought his immediate release. 

The AAP chief was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday in connection with a money laundering case pertaining to the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam. The agency was granted seven-day custody by the Rouse Avenue court in Delhi on Friday.  

Approaching the Delhi High Court on Saturday, Mr Kejriwal has challenged his arrest and the remand order, terming them illegal. Seeking an urgent hearing from the acting chief justice of the high court by  Sunday, the AAP chief has claimed that he is entitled to be released from custody immediately. 

The Delhi High Court had, incidentally, refused to grant protection from arrest to Mr Kejriwal on Thursday and he had been taken into custody by the ED hours later.  “We have heard both sides, and we are not inclined at this stage (to grant protection). The respondent (ED) is at liberty to file a reply,” a two-judge bench had said. 

In a message earlier on Saturday, which was read by his wife Sunita Kejriwal, the chief minister had urged AAP workers to continue their work for society and not hate anyone, including people from the BJP, which his party claims has misused agencies and targeted opposition leaders like him. 

“There are several forces within and outside India that are weakening the country. There is no jail that can keep me behind bars for long. I will come out soon and keep my promises,” he said.