SC grants interim bail to Delhi CM till June 1
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The Supreme Court on Friday is likely to pass on order on the petition seeking interim bail for Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal in the liquor excise policy case.
Kejriwal, who is in judicial custody, is the third AAP leader arrested in the case related to Delhi’s excise policy.
The top court, during the hearing on the petition on Tuesday, said it did not want Kejriwal to discharge his official duties if he was released on interim bail in view of the election. The court later reserved the order.
"Suppose we grant you interim bail on account of elections. Then if you say you will attend office, it may have a cascading effect. If we give you interim bail, we don't want you to perform official duties as somewhere it will lead to a conflict of interest. We don't want your interference at all in the working of the government," the bench told Kejriwal's counsel Abhishek Singhvi.
However, the Enforcement Directorate opposed Kejriwal's bail plea and said no leniency should be shown to Kejriwal because of the election and granting interim bail to him would amount to creating a separate class for politicians. It also filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court vehemently opposing any “special treatment” for political figures due to the ongoing general elections.
Kejriwal has been in judicial custody in Tihar Jail since his arrest on March 21. The Supreme Court issued a notice to the ED on April 15 concerning Kejriwal's plea and sought their response. On April 9, the high court upheld his arrest, citing his repeated refusal to join the investigation and attend summonses.
The matter pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government's now-scrapped liquor excise policy for 2021-22.