Was it necessary to arrest Delhi Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar?

The Delhi Police on Tuesday arrested Delhi Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar for allegedly faking his educational degree.

But the debatable question is was the arrest necessary? 

Had it been the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Tomar perhaps would not have been arrested. This is because the CBI usually doesn’t arrest for financial fraud and white-collar crime unless the accused tries to influence the investigation or fails to cooperate. This was evident in the 2G spectrum scam case. The country’s premier investigating agency didn’t arrest the high-profile accused before it filed a chargesheet in the case. 
 

The arrests were made only at the directions of the Special CBI judge hearing the matter. Charges in the 2G scam were much more serious than what has been levelled against Tomar.
 

It is very much possible that allegations against the Delhi law minister are true. But it is not a serious crime like murder and rape for which the accused has to be immediately taken into custody.
 

At best Tomar could have been called for questioning after being given a court notice under the relevant sections of the Criminal Procedure Code. We are not sure yet whether such notices were given before his arrest, but  the Delhi Police should have waited and allowed the court to decide on his arrest.
 

The fear is that such incidents will only intensify the battle between the Delhi Police and the Delhi government. We have already witnessed a bitter slugfest between the two during Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s previous stint of 49 days.  
 

The Delhi government, through Delhi’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), may go after Delhi Police officers on charges related to corruption. Ideally the Delhi ACB doesn’t have the mandate to investigate cases of central government employees (Delhi Police is part of Union home ministry). But in a recent Delhi High Court judgment, the court denied bail to a constable of Delhi Police. The ACB had arrested the constable for allegedly accepting a bribe.
 

The AAP government might take a stance that the BJP-led Union government is interfering in its affairs through the actions of Delhi Police and Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Najeeb Jung, but it doesn’t absolve the Delhi CM and his party either. 
 

Kejriwal has been taking a high moral ground when it comes to corruption and image of the candidates. His party has been advocating clean politics but it followed the same path, which other political parties have followed, to win elections.
 

Can Kejriwal explain how Tomar’s case slipped from the scrutiny of the screening committee, which was set up to select the candidates before the Delhi assembly elections?
 

And why has Kejriwal been silent on the entire row when he has a lot of time to attack the L-G and the BJP-led central government.  
 

It would be ironic to see whether the fast courts set up by Tomar as Delhi’s law minister will hear his case on a daily basis. But all said and done, it would be wise for the BJP government to provide all the resources to the AAP government and let it function.
 

Thanks to petty politics, there is an impression among Delhiites that the Union government is not allowing Kejriwal to work.