Supreme Court Grants Interim Bail To Arvind Kejriwal Till June 1
The Supreme Court on Thursday granted interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal till June 1. Though AAP leader requested bail till counting votes, the apex court rejected his petition and instructed him to surrender on June 2. The order has been passed by a Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta.
Arvind Kejriwal has been under judicial custody since his arrest on March 21 in connection with the alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy Case. Kejriwal is currently lodged in Tihar jail.
During this bail period, Arvind Kejriwal is allowed to participate in election campaigns. However, he is not allowed to discharge official duties as Chief Minister since it “may have a cascading effect”.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) strongly protested allowing bail to Kejriwal”s and listed the objections in an affidavit. “The right to campaign for an election is neither a fundamental right nor a constitutional right and not even a legal right,” the New Indian Express reports, as the agency has remarked in the affidavit. The agency also added that a politician cannot state a higher status than an ordinary citizen and are not entitled to “differential treatment.” No political leader has been given interim bail for election campaigning even though he is not the contesting candidate, ED said.
Adding further, the federal agency argued that if the apex Court granted Arvind Kejriwal on the grounds of election, it “will create a precedent which would permit all unscrupulous politicians to commit crimes, avoid investigation under the garb of election,” The New Indian Express quotes, as ED is saying.
Meanwhile, the Court told the probe agency that allowing Delhi Chief Minister an interim bail for 21 days will not make much of a difference.
Though the Supreme Court on Tuesday was to pronounce order regarding his bail petition, it then reserved the judgement to Thursday or to next week. The apex Court on May 3 suggested at the possibility of giving interim bail to Arvind Kejriwal considering the ongoing Lok Sabha election. While scheduling hearing on Tuesday, the court has requested both the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Kejriwal’s counsel to come prepared. On April 15, the Court has issued a notice to the federal agency and sought their response.
