The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal till June 1 in the liquor policy case so that he can campaign in the ongoing General Elections. The Bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna said that Kejriwal has to surrender on Jun 2, a day after the General Elections will end.
Here are 5 conditions for Arvind Kejriwal’s interim bail:
1) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal cannot visit his office or the Delhi Secretariat during the tenure of his interim bail, the Supreme said as it imposed a slew of restrictions on him as part of the bail conditions.
2) It asked Kejriwal to not sign any official file unless absolutely necessary to obtain the Lieutenant Governor’s sanction during the 21-day interim bail period.
3) “He shall not visit the Office of the Chief Minister and the Delhi Secretariat.”
4) “He shall be bound by the statement made on his behalf that he shall not sign official files unless it is required and necessary for obtaining clearance/ approval of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi,” the top court said.
5) The bench also directed Kejriwal to furnish bail bonds in the sum of Rs 50,000 with one surety of the like amount to the satisfaction of the jail superintendent. “He will not make any comment with regard to his role in the present case; and will not interact with any of the witnesses and/or have access to any official files connected with the case,” the top court said.
The apex court, while granting Kejriwal the relief said there was no doubt about the fact that serious accusations have been made against him but he has not been convicted yet.
“He does not have any criminal antecedents. He is not a threat to the society,” the bench said.
The apex court said Kejriwal will have to surrender and go back to jail on June 2.
The matter relates to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government’s now scrapped excise policy for 2021-22.
We will try and pronounce judgment if possible next week: SC
The top court today said that it would try and conclude arguments next week. “We will try and pronounce the judgment if possible,” said Justice Khanna. The bench, also comprising Justice Dipankar Datta, was hearing Kejriwal’s petition challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate.
The Enforcement Directorate had opposed the move to grant interim relief to Kejriwal. The agency had said that any special concession to Kejriwal will “amount to anathema to the rule of law and equality”, thereby creating two separate classes in the country, that is to say ordinary people, who are bound by the rule of law as well as the laws of the country, and politicians who seek exemption from the laws.
The enforcement directorate had said that the right to campaign for an election is neither a fundamental right nor a constitutional right and not even a legal right. The probe agency said that in its knowledge, no political leader has been granted interim bail for campaigning even though he is not a contesting candidate.
On May 7, the top court had remarked that it was not going by whether Kejriwal was a politician. “Every individual involved will have a special circumstance or case involved. We have to see if that person falls under that special circumstance considering elections are there. We are not saying there is a different law for others,” the apex court had said.
The Delhi government had announced a new excise policy in November 2021, allowing private comp.es to distribute liquor in the national capital. The policy was later withdrawn following allegations of cartelisation and monopoly. The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party took money from a liquor lobby to announce the new excise policy. It also claimed that the party was a major beneficiary of the proceeds and that the chief minister was “a key conspirator” in the scam.
The probe agency has also arrested AAP leaders M.sh Sisodia and Sanjay Singh in the same case. While Sisodia remains in judicial custody, the Supreme Court granted bail to Singh on Apr 2, pending trial.
