The Supreme Court on Friday gave interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal till 1 June after he sought a release from jail to campaign for the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
He was arrested in a excise policy case on 21 March.
The legal team of Delhi Chief Minister and AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday raised objection to the affidavit filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) opposing his interim bail in the Supreme Court.
The team issued a press release revealing that a formal complaint in this regard has been lodged with the Supreme Court’s registry.
Denouncing the ED’s affidavit as a blatant disregard of legal procedures, the release said the affidavit was submitted without taking the SC’s approval and issued at a time when the matter is already slated for a final decision in the top court on Friday.
What ED’s latest affidavit says
The right to campaign in an election is neither a fundamental nor a constitutional right, the Enforcement Directorate submitted to the apex court on Thursday, a day ahead of the scheduled pronouncement of the court’s order on grant of interim bail to Kejriwal in an alleged money laundering case.
The agency in its affidavit said, “In light of the above factual and legal submissions, the prayer for interim bail deserves to be rejected as it would not only be contrary to settled principles of law but violate the rule of law which is a basic feature of the Constitution.”
It underscored that grant of any special concession to the Delhi chief minister and enlarging him on interim bail for campaigning in the general elections would be “anathema to the rule of law and equality and create a precedent”.
“Grant of interim bail merely for political campaigning would militate against and will be discriminatory to the rule of equality as work/business/ profession or activity of every citizen is equally important to him or her,” it said, adding it would not be possible to hold that the work of a small farmer or trader is any less important than campaigning by a political leader who admittedly is not contesting.
It said, “This Court would take the call about grant/refusal of interim bail/release after 3-day long arguments of the petitioner. As against this, the respondents (ED) have just begun. On this ground also this court may take a final view about the petition after fully hearing the respondent particularly when there is no medical urgency which requires consideration of interim release without fully hearing the respondents.”
The agency said if Kejriwal is extended any interim relief on account of him being a politician for campaigning in the Lok Sabha polls for his party, there is no gainsaying that all jailed politicians would seek similar treatment claiming they are in a class of their own.
“A politician can claim no special status higher than that of an ordinary citizen and is as much liable to be arrested and detained for committing offences as any other citizen,” it said in its 44-page affidavit.
The agency submitted that there is absolutely no principle which justifies giving a differential treatment to a politician for campaigning over a farmer or a businessman who wishes to pursue his vocation.
“If the right to campaign is treated as a basis for grant of interim bail it would breach the principles of Article 14 for the reason that harvesting for a farmer would be an equally important factor seeking interim bail as would a board meeting or an annual general meeting for a director of a company who commits a crime as these are their respective vocations or professions,” it said.
Pointing out that Kejriwal has not filed petitions for regular or interim bail before the apex court or any other court, the ED said the consistent approach of this court has been to relegate parties to the remedy of bail under CrPC when they had challenged their arrest claiming it to be illegal.
It referred to the orders passed by the court in the cases of former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, AAP leader Sanjay Singh and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha, where the court asked them to move bail petitions in the money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy scam.
The agency said such an approach would violate the cherished values of the Constitution which upholds the rule of law as a basic feature meaning thereby that “howsoever high you might be you are not above the law”.
On Wednesday, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who headed the bench that heard Kejriwal’s petition against his arrest in the case, said, “We will pronounce the interim order (on bail) on Friday. The main matter related to the challenge to arrest will also be taken up on the same day.”
The Delhi High Court had last month upheld the AAP leader’s arrest, saying there was no illegality and the ED was left with “little option” after his skipping several summonses and refusing to join the investigation.
ED charge sheet soon
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is expected to soon file a fresh charge sheet in the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case and it may name Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, BRS leader K Kavitha and some others as accused, official sources said on Thursday.
The federal agency had arrested Kejriwal from his official residence here on March 21 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) while Kavitha, the MLC daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, was taken into custody from Hyderabad on 15 March.
Official sources said a prosecution complaint against half-a-dozen entities, including the two politicians, some linked individuals and companies, has been readied and the agency may file it before a special PMLA court here within the next 4-5 days.
The accused will be charged with money laundering and the prosecution complaint will be filed under sections 45 and 44(1) of the PMLA, the sources said.
The agency may also name the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in this charge sheet along with attachment of some fresh assets in the case that was registered in 2022.
This will be the seventh charge sheet by the ED in this case in which it has arrested 18 people so far including Kejriwal’s party colleague and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and others. Singh was granted bail sometime back.
AAP sources alleged that the expected complaint was nothing but the BJP’s charge sheet and that the party in power at the Centre only intends to defame Kejriwal.
The ED sources said the agency is expected to charge Kejriwal with “non-cooperation” in its investigation and being “vicariously” liable for the offence committed by the AAP, being the national convenor of the said party and because of his role and active involvement in the day-to-day affairs and the conduct of the business of AAP.
It may reiterate its earlier charge made against Kejriwal, before a court, that as the AAP national convenor and member of its national executive, Kejriwal was “ultimately responsible for the funds being used in the election expenses including their generation”.
Kejriwal, 55, has been called by the ED the “kingpin and key conspirator” of the Delhi excise “scam” orchestrated in collusion with ministers of the Delhi government, AAP leaders and other persons.
The ED has also alleged that Rs 45 crore “kickbacks”, out of the Rs 100 crore “bribe” provided by the ‘South Group’, were used by the AAP for the Goa assembly election campaign in 2022.
The ‘South Group’ liquor lobby allegedly includes Kavitha, TDP Ongole seat Lok Sabha candidate Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, his son Raghav Reddy and others.
The excise case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22, which was later scrapped.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged irregularities. Subsequently, the ED registered a case under the PMLA.
The ED filed its money laundering case on 22 August, 2022, taking cognisance of the CBI FIR that was lodged on 17 August, 2022.
A day ahead of the scheduled pronouncement of its order on grant of interim bail to Kejriwal in the money laundering case, the ED told the Supreme Court on Thursday that the right to campaign in an election is neither a fundamental nor a constitutional right.
The central probe agency said there were numerous examples where politicians contested elections while in judicial custody, and some even won, but were never granted interim bail for campaigning.
The matter relates to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government’s now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22.
The AAP leader was arrested on 21 March and is currently lodged in Tihar Jail under judicial custody.
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Big relief for Arvind Kejriwal! SC grants interim bail till June 1 to campaign for Lok Sabha polls
