14 political parties seek Supreme Court intervention over misuse of CBI, ED; pre-arrest guidelines

The Supreme Court was approached by 14 political parties on Friday, including the Indian National Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party and Shiv Sena against the alleged arbitrary use of Central investigating agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation in arresting opposition leaders.

The matter was mentioned by Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi today before CJI DY Chandrachud.

The political parties asked for laying guidelines for the law enforcing agencies and courts on arrest, remand and bail. The Advocate submitted that 95 percent cases were on opposition leaders. They also said that they want guidelines for both pre arrest and post arrest.

The Chief Justice of India decided to hear the matter on April 5.

The parties that have approached the top court of the country include the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), National Congress Party (NCP), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Janata Dal (UnitedJ), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference.