Liquor Policy Case: The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the liquor policy case. The top court said it is up to Kejriwal to decide if he should continue as chief minister. Though Kejriwal may have got bail from the Apex court, he will not be released from jail as he was arrested by the Central Bureau Investigation (CBI) later in the alleged scam. The AAP convenor got interim relief based on some conditions. Take a look at them.
- Arvind Kejriwal shall 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 shall not visit the Office of the Chief Minister and the Delhi Secretariat.
- Kejriwal 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.
- Arvind Kejriwal will not make any comment with regard to his role in the present case.
- The Delhi Chief Minister will not interact with any of the witnesses and/or have access to any official files connected with the case.
"We are conscious of the fact that Arvind Kejriwal is an elected leader," a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said while also noting that Kejriwal has suffered incarceration for over 90 days. It also referred the questions pertaining to the legality of his arrest in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case to a larger bench.
The court said since the matter is concerned with the right to life and the issue of arrest has been referred to a larger bench, Kejriwal be released on interim bail. The top court framed three questions related to power, the necessity of arrest under section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and policy of arrest by the ED.
It said Kejriwal will be released on interim bail in terms of the conditions in the order of May 10. The Supreme Court further said that the interim bail may be extended, or recalled by a larger Bench.
AAP welcomes Supreme Court's decision
The AAP hailed the Supreme Court for granting interim bail to Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy scam case filed by the ED and said this has "exposed" the BJP "conspiracy" against him.
Kejriwal, who is the national convenor of the AAP, however, will remain in jail as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had arrested him in a corruption case related to the alleged scam while he was in custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
In a joint press conference, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Sandeep Pathak termed the Supreme Court verdict as a "victory of truth".
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