Jurists debunk Mishra's allegations, question timing of his exposé

After serious allegations were made by former Delhi Water Minister against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, of allegedly taking Rs 2 crore in cash from his cabinet colleague Satyendar Jain, several members of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress have demanded the CM's resignation and a proper investigation into the case.

However, several legal experts have said that merely on the basis of an oral testimony, a case cannot be made against Kejriwal.

Moreover, the experts have asked for corroborative evidence against Kejriwal, demonstrating the fact the Chief Minister had abused the power of his office by taking 'illegal cash'.

After going through the developments in the case, senior advocate Rebecca John claimed that the allegations are "all gas and no substance", made by a "petulant child sulking because he was sacked from the cabinet".

"What was Kapil Mishra doing when he found that the illegal transfer of money had taken place? He had no problem with it and would sit in the same cabinet with Kejriwal and kept all this close to his chest. But when he was sacked, he made this volley of allegations which I do not take seriously as a lawyer," said Rebecca John.

While talking to reporters on Sunday morning after he raised the graft allegations, Mishra went on to claim that he had evidence to substantiate his claims.

"There is a very big question mark on Mishra's testimony. I do not find any legal basis to take action without evidence. The timing of his confession right after his sacking puts his testimony in doubt," said advocate Amit Khemka.

Delhi Congress President Ajay Maken had said that Mishra's claims were not mere allegations, but the testimony of an eyewitness and asked the Centre, CBI and the Anti-Corruption Bureau to take action by registering an FIR.

While talking to Millennium Post, noted Supreme Court lawyer Aman Lekhi stated that if it can be established that a cognisable offence has taken place, then the agencies can act on the complaint.

"In cases pertaining to CBI, an FIR can be registered after a preliminary enquiry by the agency on the basis of specific source based information. Even in other agencies, like Delhi Police, source-based information can be examined and action taken," he said.

Meanwhile, senior officials from Delhi Police are waiting and watching as the events unfold.

A highly placed source with Delhi Police told this paper, "We will wait for an official complaint and after going through the contents of the complaint, an FIR can be registered against the Chief Minister."

The Delhi Police had faced the courts' ire for arresting 13 Aam Aadmi Party MLAs in the last two years on charges ranging from rape, extortion, cheating, forgery and rioting.

All of them got bail when the police were unable to explain the charges.

Talking about the same, Rebecca John claimed that such patterns have emerged in the past, wherein allegations have been made to break the party in power.

"If you look closely at this case, one can clearly see a pattern arise in which the party at the Centre gains to benefit from the allegations made against the party in power in several states," John said.

Several senior leaders across political platforms have asked Kejriwal to tender his resignation.

"There is no legal precedent as such. We used to see cases before the Emergency period, wherein on mere charges of corruption politicians would step down. In the present times, if you step down it is seen as a sign of complicity in corruption," said Khemka.