Arvind Kejriwal. PTI file
Satya Prakash
New Delhi, May 7
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal failed to get an immediate relief in a money-laundering case linked to the excise policy scam on Tuesday as the Supreme Court deferred the hearing on interim bail to the AAP leader to allow him to campaign in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
“Tentatively... we will give you a date for the day after tomorrow (May 9)…if it's not possible, we will keep it sometime next week,” a Bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta said.
The Bench hinted at granting interim bail to Kejriwal in view of the Lok Sabha election. "He (Kejriwal) is an elected Chief Minister of Delhi. The elections are around the corner. These are extraordinary situations. He is not otherwise a habitual offender...or somebody who has been involved in many other cases,” it said.
The Bench, however, said it didn’t want Kejriwal to discharge his functions as Delhi Chief minister and sign official files, if released on interim bail to campaign in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
"Suppose we release you, and you are allowed to participate in elections, you will be performing official duties...it can have cascading effects...We make it clear, we don't want you to be performing official duties if we release you," Justice Khanna told senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who represented Kejriwal.
"He (Kejriwal) will not sign any files, with a condition that the L-G (Lt Governor) may not stop any work on the grounds that I (Delhi CM) have not signed any file," Singhvi responded. He, however, said there can’t be any restrictions on Kejriwal’s political activities.
Currently lodged in Tihar Jail in the national capital under judicial custody after his arrest on March 21, Kejriwal has challenged the Delhi High Court’s April 9 verdict upholding his arrest in a money-laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy scam. On Tuesday, a Delhi Special Court sent him to judicial custody till May 20.
On behalf of the Enforcement Directorate, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju vehemently opposed the possibility of interim bail to Kejriwal, saying it would send a wrong message to the public.
“What an example we are setting… Are other people less important than a chief minister? There can't be any deviation only because he is a chief minister. Are we carving out an exception for politicians? Would campaigning for elections be more important than a farmer sowing seeds in his farms?” Mehta argued.
“If an agriculturist has to tend to his field and a kirana store owner has to go to his shop.. how can a chief minister be treated differently… than an ‘aam aadmi’ (common man). Are we carving out an exception for a class of politician as ‘A’ class and he needs to campaign..Would an election campaign be more important than a person who wants to run a kirana shop,” the Solicitor General submitted.
Clarifying that the court certainly didn’t want politicians involved in crimes to be treated differently, the Bench, however, sought to draw a distinction between a national election and farm activities.
“That's separate... National elections are held once every five years. It's not like the harvesting season every six months or four months. We don't appreciate this,” Justice Khanna told Mehta.
“The question is whether you should or should not grant interim bail,” Mehta said, adding he was called six months back and nine summonses were issued but he became a judge in his own cause and evaded the summonses.
The Bench called for case files in relation to the Delhi Excise Policy ‘scam’ case and asked the ED to produce the same since the arrest of former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. "It's almost two years now... This is not good for any investigating agency. When will the trial start in the case?"
The court said it needed to see what happened to the investigation from one stage to the other stage. “For an investigating agency to take two years for this is not good. We need to see whether Section 19 compliance is done or not,” it said.
Noting that there was not even a single statement exonerating Kejriwal, ASG Raju said, “We have proof that hotel expenses of Arvind Kejriwal during Goa elections… 7-star Grand Hyatt… and the bill was paid by Chariot Enterprises and we have documentary evidence to that effect.”
Earlier, the top court had on April 2 granted bail to senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh – who was arrested by the ED on October 4, 2023 -- in connection with a money-laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy scam after the ED said it had no objection to his release on bail. However, it had clarified that the concession given to Singh will not be treated as a precedent.
14:45 07 May
14:24 07 May
13:00 07 May
12:57 07 May
12:57 07 May
12:53 07 May
12:45 07 May
12:42 07 May
12:37 07 May
ED says court may not create separate class for politicians
12:36 07 May
It is an extraordinary situation as Arvind Kejriwal is CM, need to consider his interim bail: SC to ED
12:32 07 May
The Tribune News Service brings you the latest news, analysis and insights from the region, India and around the world. Follow the Tribune News Service for a wide-ranging coverage of events as they unfold, with perspective and clarity.
Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.
Most Read In 24 Hours
Don't Miss
View All
Top News
Unrelenting heat disrupts daily life; Met office issues a red warning for Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi
The mercury reaches or surpasses 47 degrees Celsius in at le...
Swati Maliwal case: Bibhav Kumar formatted iPhone, CCTV footage of ‘assault’ incident blank, Delhi Police tell court
'Assault could have been fatal’, say police in its remand ap...
Police seized CCTV DVR from Kejriwal’s house, planting stories to tarnish party’s image: AAP
There was no immediate reaction from the Delhi police
Arrest warrant against JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna in sexual assault case
NDA’s Hassan Lok Sabha candidate is at large
All Indian students safe in Bishkek, says embassy
4 people, including three Egyptians, have been arrested
