New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday granted interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on 12 March in connection with its money-laundering probe into the Delhi government’s now-withdrawn excise policy.
A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta passed an interim order granting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener interim bail till 1 June, though the ED vehemently opposed it. The top court had suggested Thursday that Kejriwal, a key leader of the INDIA bloc of opposition parties opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), be released and allowed to campaign for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
The court has directed Kejriwal to surrender on 2 June.
In a fresh affidavit, the ED claimed no political leader had ever been granted interim bail for campaigning and that the right to campaign in elections is neither fundamental nor constitutional.
Though it hinted at granting interim bail to Kejriwal on 7 May, the top court made it clear that he would not be able to discharge any official duty as chief minister. At an earlier hearing, the Supreme Court had also questioned ED on the timing of the AAP leader’s arrest as it was on the verge of the Lok Sabha polls.
Kejriwal was lodged at Tihar Jail following his arrest by the ED on 21 March and has challenged his custody and remand. The Delhi High Court rejected his plea, which was then moved before the apex court.
Upholding his arrest on 9 April, the high court said there was no illegality in the arrest and that the ED was left with “little option” after Kejriwal skipped repeated summonses and refused to join the investigation.
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A limited, time specific relief. It offers no guidance to lower courts how they should enforce , in practice, the SC’s own dictum, Bail, not jail, is the norm.