In a major relief for Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Supreme Court of India granted bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal till June 1, the day when the last phase of Lok Sabha polls 2024 will be held.
The Chief Minister will have to surrender on June 2, a couple of days ahead of the announcement of the 2024 Lok Sabha poll results.
He will only be allowed to campaign for his party — AAP — for the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
Kejriwal’s interim bail order was passed on Friday by a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta.
Before granting him bail, the apex court set five conditions for Kejriwal:
1. The Delhi CM shall furnish bail bonds in the sum of Rs 50,000 with one surety of the like amount to the satisfaction of the Jail Superintendent;
2. Kejriwal shall not visit the Office of the Chief Minister and the Delhi Secretariat;
3. The AAP national convenor shall be bound by the statement made on his behalf that he shall not sign official files unless it is required and necessary for obtaining clearance/ approval of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi;
4. Delhi CM Kejriwal will not make any comment with regard to his role in the present case — Delhi liquor policy case — for which he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21;
5. Kejriwal will not interact with any of the witnesses and/or have access to any official files connected with the case.
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Supreme Court lawyer Shadan Farasat representing Kejriwal said: “There is no restriction on his election campaigning. We will try for his release today itself.”
Kejriwal is currently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar jail in the money laundering case connected to the Delhi excise policy.
He is likely to be released in a few hours.
‘21 days should not make a difference’
Before reading out the bail order, the court pulled up ED for the delay in arresting the AAP chief.
The SC said the central agency had registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in August 2022, but Kejriwal was arrested in March 2024.
“For about one and half years he was there… An arrest could have been made afterwards or before, whatever it is. 21 days here or there should not make any difference,” Justice Khanna said.
On Thursday, the ED had filed a new affidavit opposing the grant of interim bail for Kejriwal for campaigning for the ongoing polls.
During the hearing of Kejriwal’s appeal on May 7, the Supreme Court had hinted at granting interim bail and let him campaign.
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The probe agency had said an election campaign cannot be considered as grounds for bail as it is not a fundamental or legal right. It also said granting bail in this case would create a wrong precedent.
The money-laundering probe by the ED against Kejriwal stems from a case registered in 2022 by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on a complaint made by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena.
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5 conditions SC placed on Arvind Kejriwal for interim bail till June 1
