Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate is aimed at politically disabling him and the Aam Aadmi Party, of which he is the national convenor, before the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, senior advocate AM Singhvi told the Delhi High Court on Wednesday.

Singhvi is appearing for Kejriwal, who has sought his immediate release on account of the arrest and the subsequent remand to ED linked to the now-scrapped excise policy ‘scam’ case.

“A sitting CM was arrested on the cusp of elections when the Model Code of Conduct is in place. If you do anything to make a level playing field uneven you are impinging on the basic structure of the Constitution. This arrest is impinging on the level playing field,” Singhvi told the court, as quoted by The Indian Express.

Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21. A day later, he was remanded to ED’s custody till March 28.

Meanwhile, the central anti-money laundering agency urged the Court to grant it time to file reply to a plea by Kejriwal challenging his arrest.

Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the agency, said the “bulky” petition was served upon them only on Tuesday, and three weeks’ time should be given to bring their stand on record. For interim relief as well, appropriate time should be given to respond, he said, reports PTI.

Meanwhile, Singhvi alleged that the request to file response was a delay tactic.

Challenge is to the foundation of arrest and there are several “glaring issues” that need immediate decision by the high court either way, the senior lawyer added.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said she would take up the matter again after some time.