Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 in connection with a money laundering probe relating to alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22.
New Delhi: Will Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal get interim bail from Tiar jail today? A major hearing is expected at the Supreme Court later in the day. A bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna on Wednesday told Enforcement Directorate counsel Additional Solicitor General SV Raju that it may pass the order on interim relief to Kejriwal on Friday.
Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 in connection with a money laundering probe relating to alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22.
On Tuesday, the bench hinted at granting interim bail to Kejriwal to enable him to campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. However, it had also said that if interim bail were granted, Kejriwal would not be allowed to discharge any official duties as Chief Minister.
ED had opposed his bail in the top court, which was hearing arguments on interim bail to Kejriwal.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, also representing ED, told the bench at an earlier hearing that there can’t be any deviation only because Kejriwal is Chief Minister and asked if the Supreme Court is carving out exceptions for politicians?
“How can a Chief Minister be treated differently from an aam aadmi? There can’t be any deviation only because he is a chief minister. Would campaigning for elections be more important?” he had told the bench.
To this, the bench said that elections are held once every five years. Meanwhile, the legal team of Delhi Chief Minister and AAP National Convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, has raised a strong objection to the affidavit filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) opposing interim bail in the Supreme Court.
A formal complaint has been lodged with the Supreme Court’s registry denouncing the ED’s affidavit as a blatant disregard of legal procedures, especially considering that the matter is already slated for a final decision in the SC today and the affidavit was submitted without the SC’s approval.
Questioning the ED’s objection to the interim bail of CM Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP said that it is well known that even after two years of investigation by the ED in the alleged liquor scam, not a single rupee or piece of evidence has been “recovered” incriminating anybody in Aam Aadmi Party.
(With inputs from ANI)
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