A Delhi court on Thursday granted bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, citing insufficient evidence and potential bias in the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) investigation into the alleged money laundering case. In her 25-page order, Special Judge Niyay Bindu of the Rouse Avenue Court highlighted the lack of clear evidence linking Kejriwal to the crime and raised serious concerns about the ED’s investigation.

The court noted that the ED had failed to explain how the alleged proceeds of the crime were used in the 2022 Goa assembly elections by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The judge said that only Rs 40 crore of the alleged Rs 100 crore had been traced, with no timeline provided for locating the remaining amount.

“ED has failed to clarify as to how much time is required for tracing out the complete money trail,” Judge Bindu said, adding that the Delhi CM’s prolonged detention without substantial evidence was unacceptable.

The court pulled up the ED for relying on statements from co-accused and approvers without corroborating evidence. The order stated, “The court has to take a pause to consider this argument which is not a potable submission that investigation is an art because if it is so, then, any person can be implicated and kept behind the bars by artistically procuring the material against him after artistically avoiding/withdrawing exculpatory material from the record.”

The court also pointed to the ED’s silence on issues such as Kejriwal not being named in the CBI’s FIR or the ED’s own Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR). Kejriwal had not been summoned by the court, but was still in judicial custody based on the ED’s ongoing investigation claim, it noted.

Judge Bindu’s order said, “While the ED relied heavily on the stringent bail conditions under Section 45 of the PMLA, the court noted that the principles of legal fairness and presumption of innocence should not be overshadowed by procedural technicalities.”

The ED quickly challenged Kejriwal’s bail in the Delhi High Court on Friday, arguing that it had not been given an opportunity to oppose it.

The High Court temporarily halted Arvind Kejriwal’s release.

Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 by the ED in connection with the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy. The agency alleges that kickbacks were used to fund AAP’s Goa election campaign. Kejriwal has denied the allegations.