Relief for Arvind Kejriwal, Supreme Court grants interim bail till June 1

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi : Aam Admi Party National Convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal received a big relief from the Supreme Court, which on Friday granted him interim bail till June 1 in the excise policy case.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Dutta granted the Delhi Chief Minister interim bail in the money laundering case registered against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.

The bench on Wednesday told Enforcement Directorate counsel Additional Solicitor General SV Raju that it may pass the order on interim relief to Kejriwal today.

Arvind Kejriwal, currently incarcerated in Tihar jail since his arrest by the ED on March 21 in connection with the money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy, has been granted interim relief by a Bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta.

The ED’s probe into the alleged money laundering activities of Kejriwal is based on a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2022, following a complaint filed by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena. It is alleged that Kejriwal, along with other AAP leaders, conspired to manipulate the Delhi Excise Policy of 2021-22 to benefit certain liquor vendors.

During the hearing of Kejriwal’s petition challenging his arrest and remand by the ED, the Supreme Court hinted at granting interim bail to facilitate his participation in the election campaign.

However, the court specified that if interim bail were granted, Kejriwal would be barred from performing any official duties as the Chief Minister of Delhi.

Kejriwal’s legal team argued that while he is not immune from prosecution as a Chief Minister, his rights are not inferior to those of any other individual. The ED countered this argument, asserting that Kejriwal should not receive special treatment solely because of his political position.

With the grant of interim bail, Arvind Kejriwal now can engage in election campaigning, albeit with restrictions on his official duties as the Chief Minister, Delhi goes to the polls on May 25.