On Thursday, the Chief Minister of Delhi was arrested by ED. After the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal, Atishi said that he will not resign from the post of Chief Minister. He will run the government from jail. Now the question is whether Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal can run the government from jail or not. What do legal experts say in this regard?
Legal experts say that there is no compulsion to resign upon arrest. Legal experts believe that arrest cannot be considered as conviction. In this situation, any Chief Minister cannot lose his post immediately due to his arrest. On the other hand, experts are also saying that it has to be seen how practical it will be to run the government from jail. Also, how much will it be in accordance with the traditions of democracy? For this, a lot will depend on various aspects including jail rules. Former General Secretary of Lok Sabha and constitutional expert PDT Acharya says that cabinet meetings are also held through video conferencing. However, as far as cabinet meeting or meeting with ministers from jail is concerned, it will require the approval of the jail administration. This will not be possible without the approval of the jail administration. In such a situation, it will completely depend on the jail authority. In such a situation, if the Chief Minister wants to run the government from jail and the jail authority gives permission for it, then it can be possible. Along with this, after arrest in a corruption case, the approval of the Governor has to be taken to prosecute. In such a situation, the dilemma remains as to how practically it will be possible to run the government from jail. In such a situation, a lot will depend on the court. But yes Arvind Kejriwal can run Delhi government from jail.
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Arvind Kejriwal is not the first Chief Minister in the country's politics to be arrested while being the CM. Recently Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren has also been arrested. After his arrest, Hemant resigned from the post of Chief Minister. After Hemant, Champai Soren became the Chief Minister. Jayalalitha was also arrested in Tamil Nadu while holding the post of Chief Minister. After that O Panneerselvam was made the Chief Minister. In Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav made his wife Rabri Devi the Chief Minister after her arrest. He also resigned from the post after his arrest. So will Kejriwal also resign after his arrest? However, Aam Aadmi Party has denied Kejriwal's resignation. Delhi government minister Atishi has said that Kejriwal will run the government from inside the jail. Legal experts say that some issues may be beyond legal constraints, but questions of traditions and morality will also arise.
Legal expert and Supreme Court advocate Ashwini Upadhyay says that even if any minister or chief minister is arrested in any case and goes to jail, he is not under any obligation to resign. According to Upadhyay, last year he had given an application in the Supreme Court that the minister who goes to jail should be deprived of the post, then the Supreme Court had said that there is no such provision in the Representation of the People's Act which can deprive the minister from the post. Makes resignation mandatory.
ED took major action on Thursday in the liquor scam case. Arvind Kejriwal was arrested after about 2 hours of raid and interrogation. On March 22, the ED team reached the Delhi Chief Minister's house at a time when the High Court had refused to grant relief to Kejriwal from arrest during the day.
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I have a keen interest in sports. I like cricket, football, hockey, badminton, and kabaddi the most. I am a fan of CSK in IPL. My favorite players are Virat Kohli and MS dhoni. My passion for the game stems from his childhood dream of becoming a cricketer. However, that path did not come forth, so I chose an alternate career in cricket, incorporating my love for journalism. I have been writing about cricket and other sports for the last 5 years. I started my journey in sports journalism with Possible11 in 2021 and have been working for them since then.
