Last week, the Court granted Kejriwal interim bail until June 1 to campaign during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The Supreme Court heard Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea last Thursday, challenging the Delhi High Court’s decision upholding his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the excise policy case. The top court had granted Kejriwal interim bail until June 1 to campaign during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
During the hearing, a bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta refused to entertain the Enforcement Directorate’s objection to Kejriwal’s statement that if people vote for AAP, he will not return to jail.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the ED, raised objections, saying, “Arvind Kejriwal has said that if you vote for me then I do not have to go to jail on June 2. How can Arvind Kejriwal say this?”
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Kejriwal’s counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi referred to a Union Minister’s statement regarding interim bail for the Delhi CM.
The Supreme Court, while commenting on the interim bail granted to Kejriwal, reiterated that the bench hadn’t made any exceptions for anybody and reaffirmed its verdict regarding the date by which the CM must surrender. Justice Khanna stated, “We welcome criticism of the verdict. We will not go into that. Our order is clear when he has to surrender. It is the order of the Apex court and the rule of law shall be governed by this. We did not make an exception for anybody.”
Solicitor General Mehta expressed his opinion, saying, “Kejriwal should not say this, it is like slapping the institution.”
The court responded, “We will not go into this.”
Kejriwal had stated during a roadshow in Moti Nagar, under the New Delhi constituency, “If you push the ‘jhaadu’ (broom) button on May 25, I may not go back to jail.”
The apex court is currently hearing Kejriwal’s plea challenging the Delhi High Court’s verdict from last month, which upheld his arrest in the case. The case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government’s now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22.
