New Delhi, March 24 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Friday (24 March, 2023) agreed to hear the petition jointly filed by 14 opposition political parties led by the Congress alleging arbitrary use of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in arresting the opposition leaders.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud agreed to list the matter on April 5. Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi mentioned the plea before the Apex Court today. Singhvi submitted before the top court that the plea sought guidelines for pre-arrest and post-arrest and their enforcement.
He said, “Today ED and CBI are being used against leaders of opposition parties and 95 per cent of cases are of opposition leaders. We’re asking for pre-arrest guidelines and post-arrest guidelines.”
The lawyer said these political parties are saying that democracy is in peril. He also said they don’t want to try to affect the existing investigations.
Opposition parties which have approached the top court include Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Rashtriya Janta Dal, Bharat Rashtra Samiti, All India Trinamool Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, National Conference, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Shiv Sena Uddhav camp, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Janata Dal (United), Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Samajwadi Party (SP).
