New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal did not get any relief from the Supreme Court on Tuesday, as the two-judge bench rose without passing any order on granting him interim bail to campaign in the Lok Sabha elections. Kejriwal is accused of money laundering in a case related to the alleged Delhi Excise scam. The bench of Justices Sanjeev Khanna and Dipankar Dutta had reserved its order on granting interim bail and said that it would be pronounced at 2 pm, but got up without giving the verdict. The bench reserved its decision after hearing the arguments of senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, who appeared for Kejriwal and the Enforcement Directorate respectively.
In the Supreme Court, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who also appeared on behalf of the investigating agency, strongly opposed showing any leniency towards Kejriwal due to the Lok Sabha elections and said that granting interim bail to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor is like a mistake by politicians. It would be like creating a separate category for. The bench has divided the hearing on the petition against Kejriwal’s arrest into two parts. His main petition challenges his arrest by the ED and seeks to declare it illegal, while the other aspect pertains to the grant of interim bail in view of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. The court has reserved the order on the issue of granting interim bail.
There was a strong debate going on in the Supreme Court on the interim bail of Arvind Kejriwal, here the lower court gave a blow to the Delhi CM.
The Supreme Court bench, before rising, indicated that tomorrow i.e. on Wednesday, the judges will sit in separate benches and if the hearing on the matters listed for Wednesday is completed and the judges have time, then they will seek their arrest by the ED. Will resume hearing on Kejriwal’s petition against him. Without specifying any time frame for delivering the verdict on the issue of interim bail, Justice Khanna said that if not tomorrow (Wednesday), we can take up the matter on Thursday. If not on Thursday, we will hear the matter next week. Meanwhile, a Delhi court extended Kejriwal’s judicial custody till May 20 in the money laundering case. Special judge for CBI and ED cases Kaveri Baweja extended Kejriwal’s custody after the AAP leader was produced in the court through video conferencing after the expiry of the earlier remand granted to him.
Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 and is currently lodged in Tihar jail in judicial custody. On April 9, the Delhi High Court had upheld Kejriwal’s arrest, saying there was no illegality in it and that the ED was left with ‘very few options’ as he had repeatedly not issued summons and refused to join the investigation. Gave. The case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and implementation of the Delhi government’s now-canceled excise policy for 2021-22.
Tags: Arvind kejriwal, Supreme Court
FIRST PUBLISHED: May 7, 2024, 17:39 IST